Binay: Task to study FM burial in Libingan not a booby trap

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay shrugged off criticism that the assignment given to him by President Aquino to study the proposal to have the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was a “booby trap,” saying he was offered the job because of his capability.

Benjie Martinez, Binay’s chief of staff, said the Vice President did not see it that way.

Binay also said the other day that he is giving himself until May to decide on the proposal.

“Let’s see when the time comes. Just give me until May, anytime in May. You can be assured, we will provide you with what we see along the way. Maybe, in a month or so, because as much as possible we want to reach even those in the provinces to know their opinion,” Binay said in a press conference.

He said he would like the public to share their opinion on the issue through electronic media like email, blog or text. He declined to give his personal stand on the issue.

Binay said the public may send reactions and comments through [email protected] or through text 0926-7468212 (for Globe subscribers) and 0949-6295575 (for Smart subscribers).

Binay said his committee would decide on the basis of opinions and reactions culled from consultations with local government officials, political parties, civic organizations and the public.

“If I give my personal stand, there is nothing anymore to decide. We will be acting on the basis of what will be the results more or less of public opinion,” Binay said.

He said they would also consider the proposal of lawyer Aquilino Pimentel III for a debate on the issue.

“Let there be a debate. We will see what is talked about in the debate. All of these will be considered. We will not preclude anybody or any organization for that matter. At the end of the day, we have to make a decision,” he said.           

“We are reaching out to many groups, political parties. We are asking not just party stand, but also the stand of the President,” Binay said.

He also confirmed that he will meet with the Marcos family, led by former first lady Imelda Marcos, to discuss the proposed burial.

“The process will not be complete without taking time to talk with the (Marcos) family,” he said.

He has already sent out letters to political parties, including his own PDP-Laban to seek their opinion on the matter.

“In line with the instructions of President Benigno C. Aquino III for me to study and recommend to him at the soonest possible time, the best option that this administration should take with regard to the question on whether the time has come for the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. I have decided to undertake wide multi-sectoral consultations with our people on the matter,” Binay said in his March 25 letter to PDP-Laban.

“As one of the country’s leading civic and political leaders, may I seek your personal stand, as well as the official stand of your organization on the issue? It is also appreciated if you can encourage your friends, family members and other acquaintances to send us their reactions on this issue,” he said in his letter to political parties.

Binay, in his letter, also urged recipients to explain their answers to question, “Are you agreeable to the burial of the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani anytime during the term of President Benigno S. Aquino III?”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, for his part, said that while he was in favor of a hero’s burial for Marcos “to once and for all put closure to this issue,” he’d rather see the country’s leaders discuss other pressing matters.

“For me, this is already a trivial issue. There are more pressing issues for us to attend to,” Trillanes said, adding he would never want to be buried at the Libingan.

“I am not keen to be buried there. I have already reserved a space for my ashes at the columbary.”

Migrante against Marcos burial

Meanwhile, a group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) yesterday joined the growing objection over the proposal to bury the former strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said most OFWs do not consider Marcos a hero since he was the “peddler” of cheap Filipino labor.

“There is no way that former President Marcos be recognized as a hero by OFWs who have been victim of forced migration due to wrong economic policies subservient to US neo-liberal policies of globalization,” Monterona said.

He noted that Marcos was re-elected in 1969 only as a result of “massive vote buying and cheating coupled with high-spending, which was among the reasons why the national treasury had been emptied at that time.”

Monterona said the late president opted to avail of foreign loans leading to devaluation of peso and eventually massive growth in the country’s unemployment rate.

“Aside from martial law declaration and deepening economic crisis and growing political instability, Marcos also exploited Filipino labor when he implemented the labor export program in 1974 otherwise known as forced migration,” he said.

From 1975 to 1985, Monterona said, there were 2,287,913 contract workers deployed abroad and their remittances during this span of time reached $5.15 billion.

He said despite huge remittances from OFWs, they became victims of their employers’ abuses, maltreatment and rampant labor malpractices and other forms of exploitation without protection from the Marcos regime.   – With Mayen Jaymalin