MANILA, Philippines – To mark his 60th death anniversary, the remains of the late president Elpidio Quirino will be reinterred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) at noon on Monday, February 29, Malacañang said.
Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said in a radio interview on Saturday, February 27, that Quirino's remains will be reinterred from the South Cemetery in Makati.
"President Quirino will be the third president to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, joining President [Carlos] Garcia and President [Diosdado] Macapagal," Quezon told state-run radio dzRB on Saturday, February 27.
Quirino was the 6th Philippine president.
Asked why Quirino would only be the third president to be buried at the Heroes' Cemetery, Quezon told Rappler, "The wishes of a president's widow or family would be a chief consideration in location of burial. Government would always propose a dignified location but abiding with family concerns as proper."
Quezon said that before Garcia died in 1971, the tradition was to bury presidents at the North Cemetery. This was because the Libingan ng mga Bayani was created only during the time of the late president Ramon Magsaysay.
Full military honors
Colonel Benjamin Hao, Philippine Army spokesman, said in a statement that the late president will be given full military honors.
President Benigno Aquino III will lead the ceremony with members of the Quirino family, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) officials, and local government officials.
They will be joined by invited Cabinet members and politicians, and representatives from various sectors.
Hao described the Libingan ng mga Bayani as the final "resting place for Filipino soldiers, presidents, dignitaries, national artists/scientists/boy scouts, and thousands of soldiers who perished in the Second World War and Korean War."
Those who cannot be buried in the cemetery are those who were "dishonorably separated, reverted, or discharged from the service; and those who were convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude."
This is the basis used to deny the proposed burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, which is being pushed by his family and promised by some candidates. – Rappler.com
Libingan ng mga Bayani image from Wikimedia Commons
Elpidio Quirino image from Wikipedia