EDITORIAL - A call only Noynoy can make

There appears to be a strengthening lobby to have the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani or National Heroes Cemetery, and it is not even led by the direct family members of the former strongman.

A resolution has already been filed in the House of Representatives pushing precisely toward that goal. That it was filed by Salvador Escudero, a former agriculture secretary under Marcos, cannot gloss over the fact that Escudero is now part of newer political alignments.

Anyway, regardless of whoever may be pushing the lobby, it is there. And the inescapable reality is that the only person who can make it happen, or on the other hand prove to be its main stumbling block, is no less than the president himself, Noynoy Aquino.

Yet Noynoy appears reluctant to be the one to make that crucial decision. Shortly after assuming the presidency, the president said he was leaving any decision on the matter to be made by his vice president, Jejomar Binay.

Now, it is no secret that Binay’s surprise victory in the last election made him the main obstacle to the presidential ambitions of Mar Roxas, who had to give way to Noynoy probably on the promise that it would be his turn in 2016, with Noynoy solidly behind him.

So, is Noynoy starting to move toward the eventual destruction of Binay by thrusting him into the lion’s den personified by the Marcos burial issue? If you do not think so, think again. Noynoy has just reiterated his desire to let Binay handle the issue.

And why did Noynoy make the reiteration now? Was it because Binay has just emerged with glowing numbers in a recent survey, the same survey that saw Noynoy’s own numbers drop? In fact, in that Pulse Asia survey, Binay emerged the most “trusted” official, even better than Noynoy.

But even if political maneuverings have nothing to do with Noynoy’s insistence that Binay decide the issue, it is still an issue that the entire nation believes cannot be delegated to anyone else. However it may eventually be decided it is still a call only the president can make.