Philippine president says not to bar anti-Marcos groups from holding rallies

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he would not stop protest actions by anti-Marcos groups and advocates slated on Friday.

The protesters will gather in several places in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to denounce the burial of late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB, Heroes' Cemetery) last Friday.

"Protest action shall be allowed in all open public places for as long as they want, with no time limit," President Duterte said Wednesday evening in a news briefing in southern city of Davao following his arrival from Lima, Peru where he attended a regional meeting.

Duterte said the protesters would not need to secure rally permits.

The president said he would also keep a lean number of police personnel to be deployed during the protest actions.

"Their role shall be limited to traffic enforcement and the basic policy standards. They are prohibited from carrying long firearms," he said.

In the case of the military forces, he said they would remain and be confined in their camps.

Marcos ruled the country for about two decades until he was ousted from office in 1986 through a military-backed uprising. During his regime, Marcos declared a martial law where thousands of people were allegedly tortured or killed.

The anti-Marcos protesters claimed Marcos had no right to be buried in the heroes' cemetery.

Duterte reiterated that he only allowed Marcos' burial at LNMB because he was a former president and a soldier.

"To all the protest organizations, let me throw this simple proposition to you. I will gladly and happy even to step down and relinquish my post if you can answer in the negative these two key questions, Was the late Ferdinand Marcos a President and was he a soldier?," he said. Endit