Duterte plan to release political prisoners welcomed

MANILA, Philippines – The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) yesterday welcomed incoming president Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement to release political prisoners, but opposed the plan to bury the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“We thank presumptive president Duterte’s affirmation of his commitment to release all political prisoners as part of confidence-building measures in the peace negotiations,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes.

“His reassurance is most welcome and indicates seriousness in moving the stalled peace talks forward. He has the potential to achieve more in the peace talks with the National Democratic Front in his first 100 days than (President) Aquino did in his six years in office,” Reyes added.

But the group is not amenable to a hero’s burial for Marcos.

“Even if it will be accorded to Marcos as a former soldier, the act sends a wrong message to our youth,” Reyes said, urging Duterte to reconsider his position.

Meanwhile, the Marcos family yesterday thanked Duterte for favoring a hero’s burial for the family patriarch.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the statement of Duterte was the right healing gesture that will end decades of divisiveness in the country.

The senator said they have always believed that under the law, it is their father’s right to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, being a soldier and a former president. – With Perseus Echeminada, Delon Porcalla