Poe family not keen on moving FPJ’s remains to heroes’ cemetery

Sen. Grace Poe and mother Susan Roces (right) when they received the National Artist honor for Fernando Poe Jr. in Malacañang. LYN RILLON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Sen. Grace Poe on Saturday said their family was not interested in transferring the remains of her late father and National Artist for Cinema Fernando Poe Jr. to the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“Mapayapa na ang kinalalagyan ni FPJ sa Manila North Cemetery. Malapit sya at pwedeng madalaw ng pangkaraniwang tao na sinimbulo at minahal nya. At nandoon din nakahimlay ang kanyang mga magulang,” Poe said in a statement on Saturday, which marked her father’s 77^th birthday.

(FPJ peacefully lies at the Manila North Cemetery. Here, he may be freely visited by ordinary citizens whom he symbolized and loved. His parents are also buried in the same cemetery.)

READ: Grace Poe, family, friends pay tribute to FPJ on 77th birthday

FPJ, dubbed as “King of Philippine movies,” was posthumously conferred the Order of National Artist for Cinema in 2012 by former President Benigno Aquino III.

Poe’s statement came weeks before the planned hero’s burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, which is being strongly opposed by rights victims and advocates.

Based on Republic Act No. 289, or “An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes and Patriots of the Country,” the Libingan ng mga Bayani intends to “perpetuate the memory of all Presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn.”

FPJ ran for president but lost to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the allegedly rigged 2004 presidential polls.

Poe thanked supporters for remembering her father even twelve years after his death and vowed to continue pushing for their advocacies.

“Marami tayong ipinaglalaban, gusto natin ng kaayusan at kapayaan. Gusto nating bigyan ng oportunidad ang ating mga kababayan–sapat na pagkain, trabaho at magandang edukasyon. Patuloy natin itong isusulong saan man tayo,” said Poe, who ran for president in the May elections but lost to President Rodrigo Duterte.

(We have a lot to fight for, we want peace and order. We want to give our countrymen opportunities – sufficient food, livelihood and quality education. We continue to pursue these wherever we are.) CDG

READ: SC consolidates three petitions versus Marcos burial