BINAY DESCRIBED MARCOS BURIAL VERDICT 'SOLOMONIC' / NOY MULLS VERDICT
MANILA, JUNE 6, 2011 (STAR) By JC BELLO RUIZ - "Solomonic."
This was how Vice President Jejomar C. Binay described his way of resolving the issue that has undeniably divided the nation for more than 20 years now – whether or not the remains of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos should be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Cemetery of Heroes) in Taguig.
A supposed leakage of Binay's recommendation to President Aquino showed that he favored full military honors for Marcos but his body would have to be buried in his home province of Ilocos Norte and not at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Binay refused to confirm or deny the supposed leakage.
"Solomonic," of course, "means exhibiting or requiring the exercise of great wisdom, especially in making difficult decisions" and indeed, the Marcos burial issue was one tough decision to make for the 68-year-old Binay who once served as lawyer for alleged victims of human rights violations during Marcos' rule.
"My friends had called me a traitor, etc. But I just laughed at them because in every decision you make, you will be met with cheers and jeers," Binay said in an interview before boarding the 10 p.m. Philippine Airlines flight PR 102 for the United States at the Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.
He went to the US to attend a two-week program on housing finance as well as lead the Philippine independence rites of Filipino-Americans.
"As they usually say, this will be 'Solomonic'," Binay said of his recommendation.
He expressed confidence that his recommendation will be followed by the President. "I think so," he said.
"I can defend my decision to anyone," he boasted.
In February, the House of Representatives came up with Resolution No.1135 signed by 216 congressmen, seeking the burial of the late strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani which currently serves as burial site for military personnel. Former Presidents Carlos P. Garcia and Diosdado Macapagal are also buried in the cemetery.
Binay was later tasked by President Aquino to study the proposal, saying the latter would be able to give it "a fair hearing."
At the time of the interview last Friday, Binay refused to confirm the advance information about his recommendation, but just the same, he was visibly disappointed with the leakage which he blamed to "someone from the Office of the President (OP)."
"I'm telling you, someone from the OP leaked my recommendation to one of your colleagues. They leaked it to their friends in the media," a visibly-irked Binay told reporters.
He had hoped that it would be President Aquino who will make his recommendation public during the week.
President Aquino, whose parents' fought Marcos' dictatorship, will have the last say, Binay said.
He had assured that the recommendation he had made to the President is "very balanced" as it contained all the sentiments of sectors he had consulted.
"It contains all the reactions, even 'curses' of those who are against the proposal," Binay said.
In previous interviews, Binay said that among the scenarios that could happen if the Marcoses are bent on having the late President finally be laid to rest is for them to be offered another burial site if President Aquino decide not to allow the strongman's body be transferred to the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
"The President will still have to decide on the matter but if they really want to bury Marcos, that is a big 'if," other burial sites will be suggested," said Binay when pressed in an interview what would happen in case the President decides not to allow the body of the late strongman be transferred at the heroes' cemetery.
He stressed that the main problem is whether Marcos would be allowed to be buried or not at the heroes' cemetery.
Even before he became President, Aquino had made known that he is not in favor of having Marcos' body transferred to the heroes' cemetery.
"The President will decide on this issue. Contrary to all the media releases, the President did not turn his back on this responsibility. He asked me to study the issue and I took it to mean that I make a recommendation based on the result of the study. But at the end of the day, he as President will have to decide on this," Binay said.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President would make an announcement on the Marcos burial issue either Sunday or Monday.
The late President's son and namesake, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was reportedly pleased with Binay's recommendation. However, when reached for comment the young Marcos declined to make any comment.
Binay's old group of human rights lawyers, the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism, Inc. (MABINI), strongly opposed the idea of transferring Marcos' preserved remains to the Libingan ng mga Bayani for the alleged massive corruption and human rights violations when he placed the country under martial law from 1972 to 1981.
On the other hand, Marcos' loyalists had pointed out that Marcos deserved the distinction, owing to his achievements as a World War II veteran, legislator, and later President of the country.
FROM GMANEWS TV
Palace: Aquino studying recommendations on Marcos burial issue GMANews.TV - Saturday, June 4 Send IM Story Print .
President Benigno Aquino III is studying the recommendation of Vice President Jejomar Binay on the issue of a hero's burial for the late former President Ferdinand Marcos, and may make his decision public by Sunday or Monday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte declined further comment on the issue until Aquino makes public his decision on the matter.
"We should allow him [Aquino] a little time to go over the recommendations and to decide ano ang ia-approve niya at ano ang hindi," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio.
Asked when Aquino's decision will be made known, she said: "Siguro if not tomorrow (Sunday), Monday makakapagbigay tayo ng statement... on the matter."
A report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper on Saturday cited a Malacañang source that Binay recommended Marcos' burial in his native Ilocos Norte province, with full military honors.
The report also quoted Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the late strongman's son, as seemingly warm to the idea.
Marcos' family had pushed for the late president's burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
But Valte refused to comment further on the matter.
"Wala pa tayong masasabi at the moment... dahil inaaral pa ang recommendations," she said.
Aquino had instructed Binay to handle the issue of whether Marcos should be buried at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, to prevent possible accusations of "bias" on the matter.
Personal feelings
But Valte said handing down a decision may "not (be) as simple as it may seem" because Aquino has "personal feelings and considerations" on the issue.
In his campaign last year, Aquino frequently mentioned how he and his family suffered during Martial Law under Marcos, including body searches on his late mother Cory when she visited her detained husband, the late former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
In 1986, the late Cory Aquino was swept to power in a bloodless revolution that ousted Marcos.
"Alam natin lahat na may personal feelings at considerations si Pangulong Aquino on the issue. Hindi sikreto ang pinagdaanan ng kanayang pamilya. The president does not want to let that get in the way of making the decision," Valte said.
"Again, alalahanin natin na kaya tinalaga ni Pangulong Aquino si Vice President Binay na magbigay ng recommendation sa issue dahil sa personal history at involvement ni Pangulong Aquino at involvement ng kanyang pamilya at history nila involving the Marcoses," she added.
She added Aquino wants recommendations on the matter to come from an "objective" source.
No deal with Marcoses Valte insisted there was no deal with the Marcoses in reaching the supposed compromise arrangement.
She was referring to speculations that the administration arrived at the compromise so Sen. Marcos will push the passage of a bill postponing elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao from August this year to 2013.
"Walang kinalaman ang burial issue sa postponement ng ARMM elections (It is not tied to the postponement of the ARMM elections)," she said.
Valte also appealed to human rights groups and other sectors to hold their reactions until the President decides on Binay's recommendations.
She also belied speculations that the recommendations will eventually be useless because Aquino has the final say anyway.
"Hindi naman sa walang saysay ang mga recommendation, gusto lang makita ni Pangulong Aquino ang naging basehan," she said. — LBG, GMA News
----------------------------------------------------------
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------
