Imee Marcos, Ilocos Norte Governor and daughter of the former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos, said on Wednesday, November 9, that she had already apologized to the people who had unintentionally suffered during the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos, but did not go as far as making a legal admission of guilt.
Imee answered comments and criticisms through an interview about her father’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani even though the Marcoses never apologized for the atrocities during his reign.
“Sa totoo lang, ako, panay ang sorry ko sa sinumang nasaktan na hindi pagnanais, hind sinasadya. Wala naman talagang perpektong tao, wala naman sa atin na walang pagkakasala, walang pagkakamali,” Imee said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda.
“Sa akin, magaling iyung tatay ko. Sa kanila, galit sila. Huwag na tayong mag-debate. Kung nasa puso nila ang kapatawaran, ibigay nila. Pero iyung iba diyan, ang hinihinging apology e tantamount naman to legal admission of guilt and criminal penalties. Sa palagay ko naman mabigat iyun at hindi na kami papayagan ng abogado diyan,” she added.
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The burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was blocked by survivors of human rights abuses during his regime but the Supreme Court rejected this petition on Tuesday.
After the high court’s ruling was announced, victims during the Marcos regime had mass protests across the country and vowed to file a motion for reconsideration to reverse the ruling.
On the other hand, Marcos’ loyalists celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, which is believed to be another step towards national healing and reconciliation.
Imee also asked the critics of her family to honor the court’s ruling about the burial which, according to her, is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s move towards national unity.
“Mananawagan din tayo sa mga tumutuligsa na talaga namang kailangan sundan ang batas. Tumalima tayo sa hatol ng Korte Suprema… Higit sa lahat bigyan natin ng daan si President Duterte sa kanyang panawagan sa unity, pagkakaisa, umpisa na ng paghihilom dahil wala na itong katapusan na away, alitan, bulok na pulitika,” the Ilocos Norte governor said.
Imee Marcos added that maybe history will have a way of proving in the future that her father did many good things for the country.
“Sabi ng tatay ko a long time ago doon sa isang interview, ‘History is not done with me yet.’ Iyung kasaysayan, mahaba talaga ang paningin. Naniniwala naman siya na sa puno’t dulo e siguro, hahatulan siya ng mas maganda, hindi puro kasamaan,” she said.
“Marami siyang infrastructure na naawa na hangang ngayon iyang mga kalsada pa rin ang ginagamit, marami siyang pnag-aral at iyung edukasyon, iyung libreng high school, siya ang nagtatag. Maraming irigasyon na ngayon ay hindi na nagagamit dahil hindi na na-maintain.”
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The burial of Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani was a promise of President Duterte during his campaign period, saying that he’s doing this because of the close family ties between the two as the President’s father served as one of Marcos’ pre-martial law Cabinet secretary.
Moreover, Imee emphasized that the Marcos family is only asking for a “soldier’s burial” for the late Ferdinand Marcos and not a state funeral.
Source: (news.abs-cbn.com)
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