Thousands Join Funeral Trek for Marcos’ Mother

More than 10,000 people joined a funeral march through Manila on Wednesday for the mother of Ferdinand E. Marcos in the largest show of support for the exiled leader since his ouster two years ago.

Thousands more lined the streets and threw confetti at the start of a 240-mile journey across rugged mountain roads to Ilocos Norte, the home province of the former president’s family.

Wearing black armbands and holding portraits of Marcos and his wife, Imelda, the marchers paraded behind a convoy of 200 cars, including the hearse carrying the body of the former leader’s mother, Josefa Edralin Marcos, who died May 4 at the age of 95.

Family members have postponed her burial for six weeks while they pressured the government to allow the exiled ruler to return to the Philippines for the event. A burial date has still not been set.

President Corazon Aquino, who rose to power in the 1986 revolt, has rejected Marcos’ appeals to return home, saying he remains a threat to national security.

The body of Mrs. Marcos had been on display for six weeks, first at a church and later at a family home in the Manila suburb of San Juan. Relatives decided to move the body to their hometown of Batac in Ilocos Norte while waiting for Marcos’ return.