PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday insisted that the drug problem is bigger than the issue of the burial of President Ferdinand Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery that many are opposing.
He defended his decision to allow the burial of the late strongman, whose preserved body is in a refrigerated crypt in Ilocos Norte, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“Because he was a President, period. Because he was a President and a soldier,” Duterte said.
He made his statement even as the National Union of Students of the Philippines slammed the proposal to give Marcos a hero’s burial because he was not a hero.
“President Duterte said he would allow this to pass simply because Marcos was a soldier during the Second World War,” group spokesman Kevin Castro said.
However, even the National Historical Commission of the Philippines has expressed dissent on the matter. The NHCP has stated Marcos’ military record is chock-full of inconsistencies, lies and self-serving myths. A hero’s burial based solely on his service as a soldier would be unwise and insensitive.”
On Monday, even the President’s staunch allies”•Senate President Aquilino Pimentel, who leads his political party PDP Laban, and his erstwhile running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano”•said they opposed a hero’s burial for Marcos.
But Duterte said the trafficking in illegal drugs was “the greatest crime,” and that it even surpassed the alleged rights abuses during the Marcos regime.
“People are angry with the huge drug problem because it has reached 600,000 people, it has angered even the soldiers and the police. The number is still going up and counting. That’s the greatest crime,” Duterte said.
“You know, we make our own histories and reforms. You’re equipped with the mental faculty to choose the straight path or the road to crime.”
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the people opposing Marcos’ burial “should move on” because Marcos would be buried as a President and a soldier.
“Marcos qualifies as both,” he said.
“The President is well aware of the protests and he allows for the protests to continue and for the people to make their own comments. [But]…it is now time to move on.”