Philippine dictator Marcos allowed hero's burial
Comeback
After Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989, his family began a successful political comeback and tried repeatedly to have him buried at the heroes' cemetery, where other presidents and celebrated military figures are interned.
Imelda became a congresswoman and fended off all corruption charges against her.
Two of her children established themselves as influential politicians. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jnr, was the more successful, becoming a senator before almost winning the vice presidency this year.
However previous presidents had refused to allow the burial in the heroes' cemetery because of Marcos's crimes, so the family kept the preserved body in a glass casket at his home in the northern province of Ilocos Norte.
The family's fortunes changed with the election of Duterte, a longtime ally of the Marcos family, as president in May this year.
He said Marcos deserved to be buried at the heroes' cemetery based on the fact he had been a president and a veteran of World War II.
Duterte also said he owed loyalty to the family because his father served in the Marcos government and the family had helped fund his election campaign.
Immediately celebrating the verdict, Bongbong Marcos said the nation of 100 million people would now be able to put past controversies behind it.
"It is in our belief a very important step for the healing process in the political arena of our country," Marcos told CNN Philippines.
"I think this will be the beginning of bringing the country together and uniting the country."
He said there was no date yet for the burial but all the preparations had already been made, signalling it would happen quickly.
His expectations of unity were met with howls of protests from Marcoscritics, some of which announced rallies for Tuesday night.
"The decision intends to effectively wipe the Marcos slate clean and negates the sacrifices of the thousands of brave souls who fought and suffered under the brutal Marcos dictatorship," Senator Risa Hontiveros said.
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