IMEE Marcos and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. were still young and should not be blamed for the sins of their father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos during his dictatorial rule, President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday.
In a taped interview aired over state broadcaster PTV-4, Duterte said that the two, who are still active in politics years after their father’s regime, should not be faulted.
“Ngayon, sabihin mo na, ‘You prosecute, you punish.’ At that time, si Bongbong Marcos, binata pa. He was only about seven years old when… Anong kasalanan nila? Bakit hindi ako magpunta, mag-shake hands? Anong kasalanan ni Imee? Bata ‘yan sila lahat. Ang matanda lang doon si Imelda pati si Ferdinand,” he said.
Imee, who was born in 1955, turned 17 when her father declared martial law. Contrary to Duterte’s claims, her brother and their father’s namesake, Ferdinand Jr., who was born in 1957, was already 15 years old at that time.
When their father was toppled during the 1986 “People Power” revolution, Imee was 30 and Bongbong was 28.
Duterte added that “guilt is personal” and someone could not be held to account for a wrong that another person committed, unless there was a conspiracy.
”Hindi naman ito organized crime na basta bigla ka na lang mag-ano diyan. Guilt is personal. ‘Yung kasalanan mo, ‘yun lang. Hindi mo ipahid doon sa lahat ng barangay,” he said.
Duterte, who courted controversy for his apparent closeness with the Marcos family, likewise credited Imee for supporting his presidential run.
The President likewise noted that his father, Vicente held the General Services (now Interior) portfolio during the Marcos regime.
Last August, Duterte said the Marcos family had agreed to return their vast unexplained wealth, including a “few gold bars,” to the government.
But Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman held a contrasting view on the culpability of Marcos’ children.
Lagman said Duterte cannot absolve Ilocos Sur Gov. Imelda “Imee” Marcos and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as “sinless” just because they were “young” during their father’s regime.
He added that the Marcos siblings have had their share of their father’s ill-gotten wealth and that Imee and Bongbong were already adults when the late strongman declared Martial Law.
Lagman also noted the ages of Imee and Bongbong during their father’s regime.
“Imee and Bongbong celebrated their 18th birthdays in 1973 and 1975, respectively, and they were old enough when the documented atrocities and plunder were committed by the ‘conjugal dictatorship’ of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos,” said Lagman.
Lagman also cited the case of Mapua Institute of Technology student Archimedes Trajano, who was allegedly killed by Imee’s security escorts in 1977 after he questioned Imee’s capacity to lead the national youth organization Kabataang Barangay. Imee was chosen by no less than his father to lead the KB.
Trajano’s body, believed to be tortured for 12 to 36 hours, was found on Sept. 2, 1977.
The Trajano family filed a case against the Marcoses in a US court and was awarded more than $4 million by the Hawaii District Court, which was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals in 1992.
The Philippine Supreme Court, however, voided the case due to a technicality saying Imee was not properly served her summons.
Lagman said that Imee claimed she was a resident of Singapore when she was served a summons in her reported address in Pasig City.
