Akbayan today called out President Duterte for describing former dictator Marcos as enterprising, saying “Duterte should not engage in dishing alternative facts about Marcos, he was not enterprising, he was a plundering dictator.”
“There is no acceptable threshhold to gloss over the plunder and murder that happened under Marcos, especially given how their family continues to evade justice,” said Akbayan President Machris Cabreros. “As president, Duterte should know better and be able to separate his duty as leader of the country from his personal opinion regarding his patrons.”
Cabreros added that it is erroneous to call Marcos’s programs as enterprising, “because the dark side of these programs was a dictator who was pilfering funds into his pockets while at the same time deploying the state machinery to kill opponents.”
“President Duterte is adding, whether wittingly or not, to the injustices perpetrated by the Marcoses by sanitizing their crimes and emphasizing their dubious achievements,” added Cabreros.
“This continued drive to cleanse the Marcos name must not be allowed to become official history, especially with the People Power anniversary coming up,” added Cabreros. “While some have given up on the spirit of EDSA, we remain committed to its original intent and spirit, which is empowerment and justice for all.”
“We will continue to call for bringing the Marcoses to justice, by accounting for the truths behind the Marcos regime,” said Cabreros, “which no president, no matter how short-sighted nor small-minded will be able to sweep under the rug.”