Body of Marcos’ Mother Still Awaits His Return

BATAC, Philippines —  Every eight weeks the body of Ferdinand E. Marcos’ mother is removed from its metal casket, injected with Formalin and dressed in a new beige gown.

The former Philippine president will allow no one to bury his mother until he returns to the homeland that ousted him nearly three years ago.

Six months have passed since 95-year-old Dona Josefa Marcos died May 4. Mourners now come in trickles at the funeral parlor--half a dozen women praying the rosary and a handful of travelers passing through to view the embalmed body surrounded by flowers.

Analysts say Marcos saw his mother’s death as his chance to come back from exile in Hawaii. But the protracted wake has become a symbol of his failure.

“Why do they keep the body for so long? Most people don’t believe he’s coming back,” said Father Ruben Abaya, a priest in Ilocos Norte, the northern province where Marcos was born.

President Corazon Aquino has refused to allow Marcos to return to the Philippines, fearing that he would use the burial of his mother as a way of escaping trial in the United States, which has no extradition treaty with Manila.