By Gil Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
A number of lawmakers on Sunday rejected Vice President Jejomar Binay’s compromise formula to give full military honors to the late President Ferdinand Marcos but bury him in his home province, Ilocos Norte.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said that depriving Marcos of his right to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was unfair. He said the late dictator “deserved such an honor considering his achievements.â€
Rodriguez said Marcos was not only the country’s longest-serving Chief Executive but he was also awarded the Medal of Valor in 1942 as part of the resistance against Japanese forces and he was a former defense minister.
“These achievements make him qualified to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and getting full military honors will not suffice. I think the President should allow his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani,†said Rodriguez.
Aside from the legal basis for Marcos’ place among those buried at the Libingan ng mg Bayani, Rodriguez noted that public sentiment had turned in favor of granting the former dictator’s wish to be buried with honors based on a recent survey.
Rodriguez was among the 219 congressmen, or three-fourths of the House membership, that endorsed House Bill 1135 urging President Aquino to allow the burial of Marcos in the cemetery reserved for the country’s heroes.
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