ADMINISTRATION and opposition lawmakers in the House played down Wednesday the seeming pattern of government critics, including the so-called “yellow forces” of the previous administration, to use the burial of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City as launching pad to reportedly push the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte from power.
Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu of Batangas and House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez of Quezon belittled the planned broad protest movement to greet President Duterte on his return from Lima, Peru tomorrow to show the people’s indignation over the burial of Marcos at LBN.
Abu, a House deputy speaker, said critics of the government will not succeed to pull down President Duterte’s trust and approval ratings.
“They will not succeed. Still the President enjoys support from a great majority of Filipino people. When these noisy people filed petition [with] the Supreme Court asking the legality of the burial, the President said he would follow whatever the decision of the SC as the interpreter of the law,” Abu said.
He said the high court ruling giving the green light to the burial of Marcos at the LNMB must be respected.
“The SC decided that there’s no reason to prohibit the burial. So what is the reason why they will oust PRRD [President Duterte] when he only followed what is the rule of the Law,” Abu stressed.
Suarez said the rallies would not prosper into bigger protest actions to topple the government.
“The President continues to enjoy widespread and overwhelming support from the people and he is doing his very best to address the problems of the country, especially the illegal drug trade,” Suarez said.
“Attempts to oust him [President Duterte] is just a pigment of imagination,” said Suarez, adding the people will not support any ouster attempt from any group that would create chaos in the country.
Bonifacio Ilagan, convenor of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang said Marcos’ burial on Friday at LNMB was a direct affront to the victims of Martial Law and the activists who fought against the dictatorship.
Earlier, Deputy Speaker and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said President Duterte’s executives and the Marcos family did not violate any law after the remains of the former President were interred at LNMB.
Castro said there was no more order from the Supreme Court that barred the government’s issuance of the “green light” for the Marcos burial.
Castro added the SC would not reverse its 9-5-1 ruling that paved the way for the burial of Marcos at the national heroes cemetery.