Before Duterte, it was Marcos who took his oath at Rizal Hall

In the days leading to June 30, 2016, many stories have been written about the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte – the official who would administer his oath, the clothes he and his family members would wear, as well as the menu at the historic event.

An important detail nearly escaped most media groups until an Aquino administration official known for his knowledge of Philippine history casually pointed it out.

In a Facebook post on inauguration day, Manolo Quezon, former head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, posted an interesting #ThrowbackThursday photo which doubles as a mini-history lesson.

It seems uncanny that Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr was a guest at Duterte’s inauguration – it was his second time to witness such a ceremony in that hall. (Marcos’ sister Imee, the Ilocos Norte governor, was also at the Palace on Thursday as a guest.)

On February 25, 1986, Bongbong, in fatigues, stood beside his father, strongman Ferdinand Marcos, as the latter took his oath in Rizal Hall. (Corazon Aquino was administered the oath at the same time, at the Club Filipino in San Juan.)

On that same day, the Marcos family were forced to pack their bags and live in exile in Hawaii.

Duterte is sympathetic to the Marcoses and has promised to allow their patriarch’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) despite strong objections, especially coming from victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime.

Duterte had also said during the campaign that Marcos was the country’s best president, had he not turned into a dictator. He also said that one of the reasons he has not appointed Vice President Leni Robredo to a Cabinet post was that he didn’t want to hurt Marcos Jr. – Rappler.com