PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said that it is not his duty as the country’s top elected official to apologize to the human rights victims of the martial law period during the administration of his late father.
The President said the matter of apologizing to the victims is a “a personal matter to the Marcos family.”
“I don’t think it is a duty for a president to be involved,” he replied, adding “that seems a little contrived” when asked if he would apologize to the human rights victims on behalf of the Marcos family.
The question was posed during the presidential forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) which celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Manila Hotel.
The President also said that while he is a member of the Marcos family, his priority at the moment is fulfilling his mandate as president.
“My role as president is more important right now than my role as a member of the Marcos family. So, I take that, that’s my first priority,” he said.
Likewise, Marcos said he has not been directly involved and will not be involved with the cases pertaining to the alleged ill-gotten wealth of his family.
He said he is leaving the matter up to his family’s lawyers, saying he does not have the time to delve into the issue.
“The previous cases that were post-1986, I have not touched. I have nothing (to do with them). It would be highly improper for me to involve myself in that. Besides I don’t have time to do it, so I leave it to the lawyers,” he said.
The government has filed cases against the Marcos family and their cronies to recover the alleged ill-gotten wealth that they supposedly amassed during the presidency of the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father and namesake of the incumbent chief executive.
