THE repercussion of the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would only be "slightly substantial," Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Saturday.
“If there will be an effect [of the Marcos burial], it would not be too substantial,” Bello, chief government peace negotiator, told state-run dzRB.
“Meaning, it would not be the reason not to pursue the peace talks because there are more important issues to be tackled at the peace talks rather than the interment of former president Marcos,” he added.
Bello’s statement came after National Democratic Front (NDF) peace panel chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni said the hero’s burial of the late strongman may affect the peace talks because the Duterte administration had been “insensitive” to the martial law victims.
In a peace forum in Baguio City, Jalandoni said the government had “shown insensitivity to the feelings and positions of the many thousands of victims [by] not taking into consideration the decision of the people who ousted Marcos.”
Bello, however, said he had not heard any lamentation from Jalandoni when they were in the province on Friday.
He then said that the interment of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani should not be a hindrance to the peace negotiations between the government and the NDF.
“They (communist rebels) know that [the burial of Marcos] should not be a hindrance and it is clear that our talks is more important rather than any other matter. We should push through with the negotiation,” he said. (Sunnex)
