The Burial of Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th President of the Philippines (1965–1986), was scheduled on October 18, 2016 at the Heroes' Cemetery in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The burial of Ferdinand Marcos, particularly at the Heroes' Cemetery has been a controversial issue as critics particularly victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law era and participants of the People Power Revolution opposing attempts to bury Marcos, who they deem as unfit to be buried at the particular cemetery due to his policies which were deem dictatorial.
There were conflicting claims on where the deceased Marcos wished to be buried. Former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III, one of the signatories of an agreement to move Marcos body from Hawaii to the Philippines during the term of then President Fidel V. Ramos, said that the Marcos wished to be buried beside his mother in his hometown in Batac, Ilocos Norte, while his wife Imelda Marcos said that Marcos wish was to be buried in Manila insisting that he should be buried at the Heroes' Cemetery.
Former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos had opposed moves to bury Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery during their respective terms, while Former President Joseph Estrada attempted to bury Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery but later cancelled the burial. Current President Rodrigo Duterte is responsible for the scheduled burial of Marcos in October 2016.
Background
Transfer of Marcos' body from Hawaii
After Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989, his family attempted to bring in his remains from Hawaii to the Philippines but the administration President Corazon Aquino imposed a ban against the entry of Marcos remains in the country. This was lifted in October 9, 1991 by Aquino on the condition that Marcos' burial would not be used for political purposes and on the condition that the body of Marcos to be flown directly to Laoag. Aquino's executive secretary Franklin Drilon said that a "heroes burial" would be allowed if held in Marcos home province instead of Manila. Imelda Marcos, the wife of Ferdinand Marcos has opposed the move saying that the dying wish of her husband was to be buried in Manila. In January 1992, the Philippine government has stated that it may not opposed the burial of Marcos anywhere in Metro Manila provided that Marcos' body was flown in the country after the 1992 Philippine election in May. The Marcos family opposed the condition and was waiting for a ruling of the Supreme Court at that time regarding their petition to bury Ferdinand Marcos as soon as possible.
The transfer of Marcos' body would not be done until the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos. It was during Ramos' term that a memorandum of agreement was made between the government and the Marcos family in 1992.There were four conditions agreed by both parties and these were:
1. The remains of Ferdinand Marcos was to be flown directly from US state of Hawaii to the province of Ilocos Norte.
2. Military honors for someone with the rank of major are to be given to Marcos. The rank is the last rank to be held by Marcos during his service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
3. No parade displaying Marcos' body was to be held in Metro Manila.
4. Marcos body is not to be buried at the Heroes' Cemetery but in Ilocos Norte.
According to Rafael Alunan III, former Interior Secretary and one of the signatories of the agreement, the third clause was agreed upon due to "wounds were still fresh in the minds of many people" and to avoid potential instability. He also says that the former President Marcos wanted to be buried beside his mother in Batac, Ilocos Norte. Also according to Alunan, that after the signing of the agreement Imelda Marcos crossed out the burial clause and wrote in that Marcos is to be "temporarily interred" instead of being buried in Ilocos Norte. Alunan said that the terms of agreement could not be changed after it was signed but Imelda insists and came up with a new agreement paper with the changed clause. The revised paper was not signed by the government.
It was on September 7, 1993 that the body of Ferdinand Marcos was flown into the Philippines. From Hawaii the body was flown to Guam then to Laoag in Ilocos Norte. The body of Marcos was not buried but was instead preserved in a refrigerated crypt hosted inside amuseum and mausoleum. In Honolulu, Hawaii, Marcos' body was also stored in a refrigerated crypt.
Cancelled 1998 Heroes' Cemetery burial
Ramos' successor Joseph Estrada attempted to organize a burial of Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery. Then President-elect Estrada had negotiations with Marcos' wife Imelda who initially also demanded state honors for the burial but later agrees to a burial without state honors. Estrada. It was agreed that Marcos was to buried in July 11, 1998. The planned burial of Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery still received opposition even after state honors were not to be included in the planned burial. Former President Corazon Aquino was among those who opposed the move. Estrada remains firm on his decision until July 1998 when Estrada decided against the plan amidst public opposition saying that it would be better if the Marcos family agreed that Ferdinand Marcos be buried in Batac to put an end to "bitter differences" and give rest to "various emotions and sentiments that flared up".
2011 Batac burial recommendation
In April 2011, then President Benigno Aquino III tasked then Vice President Jejomar Binay to study whether to bury Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery or not. The Office of the Vice President received 3,000 responses from various political parties, sectors, organizations, and members of the public on the issue. Binay recommended the burial of Marcos in his hometown in Batac with full military honors. Aquino did not act on the recommendation.
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