The upcoming burial of ousted President Ferdinand Marcos’ remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani has thrown the entire country into another political smackdown — and Senator Manny Pacquiao has gotten in the ring.
But while Pacquiao is not throwing actual punches, his recent statements about the matter are consider blows to those opposing the Marcos burial in a cemetery whose very name indicates that it’s for heroes. The late dictator, who imposed martial law in the country, has been exposed as a fake war hero and a despot.
Pacquiao, though, invoked the name of God anew when he defended his stand on the matter. A Philippine Daily Inquirer report quotes him as saying, “Kahit gaano kasama ang isang tao, ang pinakaimportante dyan magkaroon tayo ng forgiveness. Let our good Lord to judge everything siguro.”
(“No matter how bad a person is, the most important thing is for us to have forgiveness. Perhaps, let our good Lord judge everything.”)
Now, Pacquiao’s “forgiveness” argument contradicts the fact that he is also backing the death penalty. In fact, he has even joked about the death penalty. It may be recalled that when asked about which form of execution he thinks is best, Pacquiao had replied, “Nananaig po ang hanging o firing squad. Sisipain lang po ang upuan eh (I’m thinking death by hanging or firing squad. Because somebody will just have to kick the chair).”
Perhaps, Pacquiao thinks different standards apply when we’re talking about a dead dictator. That would seem to be the case, as he had this to say when Marcos era human rights violations were brought up: “Kino-consider naman natin yun pero alin ang mas nauna, yung pagka-elect nya as president o yung martial law?”
(“We consider those but we have to ask, what came first, his being elected as president or martial law?”)
Apparently, it’s just a chicken-or-egg scenario for the senator, who is a world-class boxer but, at times, deserves rotten eggs on his face as a lawmaker.
