President says no need to forgive people behind dad’s ouster in 1986
Saying he never blamed anyone for the ouster of his father, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is not one to take things personally as he returned to Hawaii for the first time since their exile to the island-state over three decades ago.
“I hope by now you have realized hindi ako namemersonal. They don’t need my forgiveness. If they want it, I’ll give it to them,” he said in an interview in Los Angeles hours before leaving for Honolulu.
“I don’t need to forgive them, I never blamed them, that’s the thing… If this is what they believe that they should do, then our beliefs were not just the same. I had to fight for my beliefs. They also pushed for what they believe is right,” he added.
In his speech before members of the Filipino community in Hawaii Sunday (Manila time), Mr. Marcos President Marcos recalled his time in Hawaii during their exile, thanking everyone who helped their family.
“We landed here in Honolulu with nothing, with nothing… My family was flown from Malacañang Palace to Hickam (Air Force) Base and when we finally moved to Makiki Heights.. I see everyone of you, all of you were there). They were always there, we had nothing with us. If not because of you, maybe the Marcos family would have been no more,” he said.
“When my mother (Imelda Marcos) found out I was coming to Honolulu, she said, ‘You make sure that you go back to all of those people who went out of their way to keep us comfortable and keep us alive.’ That is something that I will carry in my heart, that the Marcos family will carry in our hearts, we’ll tell our children about this and how wonderful you all were to us in that time.”
“We could not have survived that very difficult period if not for you. That’s why when I went to San Francisco, I insisted we must pass by Hawaii because even if I thank you everyday for 1,000 years, it is not enough for all the things you did to us.”
The Marcos family was forced to move out of the country after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986.
Mr. Marcos is in Honolulu for the last leg of his six-day working visit to the United States where he attended the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and met with various world leaders.
The President is scheduled to visit the United States Indo-Pacific Command and hold a roundtable meeting at the Daniel Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies before returning to the country tonight (Monday evening).