MANILA – Malacañang distanced from a House of Representatives measure declaring Sept. 11 as a special non-working holiday in the province of Ilocos Norte in commemoration of the birth anniversary of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte will respect the decision of lawmakers on the proposal that has drawn negative reactions from netizens.
“Rerespetuhin ng Presidente kung ano ang maging desisyon ng policymakers sa Kongreso,” Roque said in a virtual press conference.
“Kinakailangan pa naman niya na makapasa sa dalawang kapulungan ng Kongreso para maging batas,” he added.
The House approved on third and final reading the measure which Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba, his nephew, described as a salute to “a brilliant man whose vision for the country remains unparalleled.”
The President is known to be close to the Marcos family, as his late father Vicente served in the late strongman’s pre-martial law Cabinet. In November 2016, Duterte allowed the sneaky burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani despite protests.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III expressed doubts that the said measure will face objections in the upper chamber since it is only a local bill.
“A bill of local application when it comes to the Senate, usually is not really debated upon. It is a bill of local application, it is for Ilocos Norte, I doubt if there will be objections to that,” Sotto said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
“If it is nationwide, baka magkakaroon ng objection ‘yan, medyo mahihirapan ‘yan. For us, it is not a matter of whether we are going to support it or not. Usually, bills of local application breeze through the Senate unless one or two objects,” he added./PN
