Marcos Deserving Of Military Honors – Palace Says

The Malacañan Palace confirmed that Former Pres. Ferdinanc Marcos shall be given military honors on his burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The Malacañan Palace confirmed that Former Pres. Ferdinand Edralin Marcos shall be given the necessary ceremony and military honors on his burial day at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella made the announcement in the midst of the criticisms that the dictator Marcos does not deserve a hero’s burial.

But Abella insisted that Marcos shall be given the necessary ceremony and honors, including state funeral and state honors, being a former president of the country, regardless of his alleged human rights violations during the Marial law government.

But as of now, there is no definite date for the burial.

“There is no definite date as of now. And the only ceremonies concerned is that ceremony befitting a president,” said Abella.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte emphasized that it is the law, and not sentiments or emotions of some, which will be the basis of laying the corpse of Former Pres. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Duterte said that as a president of the country, he took oath to implement the law, without fear or favor, and without considering any sentiments.

He must be citing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regulation, which provides that the remains of the following deceased persons are “qualified, and therefore authorized”, to be buried at the LNMB:

a.) Medal of Valor Awardees;

b.) Presidents or Commander-in-Chief, AFP;

c.) Secretaries of National Defense;

d.) AFP Chiefs of Staff;

e.) Generals/Flag Officers of the AFP;

f.) active and retired military personnel of the AFP, to include active draftees and trainees who died in line of duty, and active reservists and CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) who died in combat operations or combat-related activities;

g.) former members of the AFP who laterally entered or joined the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP);

h.) Veterans of Philippine Revolution of 1890, World War I, World War II, and recognized guerillas;

i.) government dignitaries, statesmen, national artist and other deceased persons whose interment and re-interment has been approved by the Commander-in-Chief, Congress or the Secretary of National Defense, and

j.) former Presidents, Secretaries of Defense, dignitaries, statesmen, national artists, widows of former Presidents, Secretaries of National Defense and Chief of Staff.

The country’s chief executive officer said that he has no plans of initiating a referendum to take public opinion on whether Marcos’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani shall be pursued or not. He said it shall cost the country billions of pesos for that sole reason.

He even said that if the ‘yellows’, referring to Former Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s loyalists and the Liberal party, really decries Marcos’ burial, they must have enacted a law prohibiting such.