 |
| Governor Imee Marcos, the eldest daughter of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, flashes a victory sign after the Philippine Supreme Court voted 9-5, with one abstention, to rule that the former dictator can be buried at the heroes' cemetery in a ruling opponents say rolled back the country's democratic triumph when Filipinos ousted the strongman in a 1986 "people power" revolt Tuesday, Nov.8, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. Court spokesman Theodore Te says the 15-member court voted 9-5 with one abstention Tuesday to dismiss petitions opposing President Rodrigo Duterte's approval of Marcos's burial at the cemetery. AP/Bullit Marquez with Patricia Lourdes Viray via Associated Press |
MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to her brother who refuses to apologize for the atrocities during Martial Law, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos said that she is willing to apologize to victims of human rights violations during the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
Imee, the ousted dictator's eldest daughter, said that she believes that forgiveness is the key to national healing.
"I feel in my heart that if in any way you have hurt someone, you should say sorry even if it's not intentional. Even if it was not policy," Imee said in an interview with ANC's Headstart on Thursday morning.
The Ilocos Norte governor, however, stressed that no admission of guilt can be expected from her.
"'Yung admission of guilt, unang-una ang liit-liit ko noon. Paano ko ia-admit hindi ko naman alam," Imee said.
Quoting English poet William Shakespeare, the Marcos daughter said, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones."
"I think my brother has a different role to play. He's the valiant warrior son so he has fight in the realm of politics. In my case, I'm simply the daughter," the Ilocos Norte governor said.
While some are protesting the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the burial of the ousted dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Imee said some remain grateful for the Marcos administration.
"Kung merong nagagalit marami naman nagpapasalamat din. I have all sorts of letters, I have amazing testimonies of my father's kindness," she said.
Imee added that their family is not trying to rewrite history by seeking a hero's burial for their late father.
"We're not rewriting history. We're not changing the truth. The cases continue to be pending... We continue to fight them in court. We are still defending ourselves and defending his memory," the Marcos daughter said.
Despite claiming that she was unaware of her father's guilt as she was too young during that time, Imee was born on Nov. 12, 1955, which makes her about 17 years old at the time her father declared Martial Law on Sept. 21, 1972.
During Martial Law, Imee also headed the national youth organization Kabataang Barangay. In 1977, a 21-year-old student Archimedes Trajano at the Mapua Institute of Technology questioned Imee on her capability to lead the youth at an open forum at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila before thousands of students. Trajano told her that she would not have assumed the position if she was not the presidential daughter.
A few weeks later, Trajano's bloody body was found on the streets of Manila. He was reportedly killed by Imee's security escorts.
Trajano's mother sued Imee Marcos before US district court in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 20, 1986. The Marcoses had just fled to Hawaii at that time after the EDSA People Power.
The US court awarded $4.4 million to the Trajano family in 1991 which was upheld by the US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in 1992. The next year, the Trajano family filed a civil case before the Pasig Regional Trial Court which seeks to collect the compensation from Imee.
The Philippine Supreme Court's (SC) Third Division, however, in 2006 declared as null and void a 1994 decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which junks Imee's motion to dismiss the case over the technicality that the summons were not properly served to her.
The 18-page decision by the SC was penned by Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco Jr. who recently voted in favor of the late dictator's burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
"I feel in my heart that if in any way you have hurt someone, you should say sorry even if it's not intentional. Even if it was not policy," Imee said in an interview with ANC's Headstart on Thursday morning.
The Ilocos Norte governor, however, stressed that no admission of guilt can be expected from her.
"'Yung admission of guilt, unang-una ang liit-liit ko noon. Paano ko ia-admit hindi ko naman alam," Imee said.
Quoting English poet William Shakespeare, the Marcos daughter said, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones."
Imee admitted that she and her brother, Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., disagree on apologizing to Martial Law victims.
"I think my brother has a different role to play. He's the valiant warrior son so he has fight in the realm of politics. In my case, I'm simply the daughter," the Ilocos Norte governor said.
While some are protesting the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the burial of the ousted dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Imee said some remain grateful for the Marcos administration.
"Kung merong nagagalit marami naman nagpapasalamat din. I have all sorts of letters, I have amazing testimonies of my father's kindness," she said.
Imee added that their family is not trying to rewrite history by seeking a hero's burial for their late father.
"We're not rewriting history. We're not changing the truth. The cases continue to be pending... We continue to fight them in court. We are still defending ourselves and defending his memory," the Marcos daughter said.
Despite claiming that she was unaware of her father's guilt as she was too young during that time, Imee was born on Nov. 12, 1955, which makes her about 17 years old at the time her father declared Martial Law on Sept. 21, 1972.
During Martial Law, Imee also headed the national youth organization Kabataang Barangay. In 1977, a 21-year-old student Archimedes Trajano at the Mapua Institute of Technology questioned Imee on her capability to lead the youth at an open forum at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila before thousands of students. Trajano told her that she would not have assumed the position if she was not the presidential daughter.
A few weeks later, Trajano's bloody body was found on the streets of Manila. He was reportedly killed by Imee's security escorts.
Trajano's mother sued Imee Marcos before US district court in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 20, 1986. The Marcoses had just fled to Hawaii at that time after the EDSA People Power.
The US court awarded $4.4 million to the Trajano family in 1991 which was upheld by the US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in 1992. The next year, the Trajano family filed a civil case before the Pasig Regional Trial Court which seeks to collect the compensation from Imee.
The Philippine Supreme Court's (SC) Third Division, however, in 2006 declared as null and void a 1994 decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which junks Imee's motion to dismiss the case over the technicality that the summons were not properly served to her.
The 18-page decision by the SC was penned by Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco Jr. who recently voted in favor of the late dictator's burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
No comments:
Post a Comment