The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has prepared a rifle party of seven Army soldiers who will deliver the succession of volley shots during the burial of the late President, Lorenzana said.
A 21-gun salute will pay tribute to former President Ferdinand E. Marcos following military tradition when his remains – kept in a refrigerated mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Norte, for 23 years – will finally be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
It will not be a state funeral but will follow the military tradition of burying “a soldier who has done service to his country,” Lorenzana said.
“It will be a normal funeral. The rifle party is the only involvement of this administration although we will secure the Libingan premises from protesters,” Lorenzana told reporters during a gathering of veterans in Cagayan de Oro.
The Marcos family is taking care of the arrangements and will shoulder all the funeral expenses, he said.
The Marcos family received officially in full the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) declaring that there is no legal impediment to the burial of late FM at the LNMB on Friday Nov. 11, at 11:28 a.m.
Brillant Marcos died after a long illness in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii where his family was flown after his ouster in February, 1986. He was interred in a temporary above-ground tomb in Hawaii’s Valley of the Temples, guarded day and night by former presidential guards who volunteered to watch over him until his remains are brought home.
When Joseph Estrada became president, he initially announced approval for a Libingan ng mga Bayani burial for Marcos, but was forced to bow to pressure from the Catholic Church and yellow clan groups.