MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, August 22, empathized with Ilocos Norte Governor Imelda Josefa "Imee" Marcos, who urged critics to "move on" from the feud between the Marcoses and the Aquinos.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the Duterte government would do its best to ensure that victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime would receive compensation.
"We understand that Governor Imee Marcos is addressing the critics of her family," Roque said in a statement.
"As far as we are concerned, the Duterte administration is willing to work with all groups for the benefit of the people. The President has opened the doors of his government to everyone, regardless of affiliation and ideology, in order to unite the country and bring us greater progress," he added.
Roque's statement came a day after Marcos told Filipinos who keep criticizing her family to forget the past and instead move forward and unite for the country's progress.
On Tuesday, August 21, Marcos said the issue between her family and Aquino should not be revived even during the death anniversary of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a staunch critic of her father's autocrat rule who was assassinated in 1983.
"The conflict between the Marcoses and Aquinos happened a long time ago. We don't need to keep hating people for a very long time. It's not our way. We just need to go forward," she said.
Roque said the government would double its efforts to put a "closure" for the victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime.
He noted that some martial law victims had already received financial reparation from the now defunct Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB).
He added that the government, through the Philippine Commission on Good Government, would not cease its efforts to recover the Marcos family's allegedly ill-gotten wealth.
"The government will continue to find ways and means to effect closure for all victims of abuses that occurred during that period of martial law," he said.
The Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 mandates the distribution of recovered hidden wealth of the Marcoses, which amounted to P10 billion plus interest.
As of May 11,2018, around 11,103 legitimate claimants out of more than 75,000 applicants had been determined by the defunct human rights board as eligible for monetary reparations. (SunStar Philippines)