Marcos Children Pay respect to Former Phillipine President Corazon Aquino

Rival families move to reconcile after death of Corazon Aquino

Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos, daughter of the late former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, views the casket of the late former Philippine President Corazon Aquino at Manila Cathedral August 4, 2009. Aquino, whose ouster of one of the 20th century's most corrupt dictators Ferdinand Marcos made her a global icon of democracy, died on Saturday after a 16-month battle against colon cancer. She was 76. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> MANILA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Children of late strongman president Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday briefly attended the wake of former president Corazon "Cory" Aquino, showing signs of reconciliation between two powerful Philippine families who are in rivalry over apolitical assassination and then a mass revolt that re-wrote the country's history two decades ago. Congressman Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his sister Imee Marcos were among thousands of Filipinos filing in the Manila Cathedral to pay their last tribute to the late president, who died last Saturday after a 16-month battle with colon cancer. Housewife Aquino was propelled into politics in 1983 when her late husband Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, a harsh critic of the authoritarian rule of President Marcos, was shot dead upon his return from exile in the United States. The murder remains a mystery today but popular theories accuse the Marcos camp for calling the shot. Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos (R) and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., children of the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, leave after viewing the remains of the late President Corazon Aquino at Manila Cathedral August 4, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Aquino, replacing her husband as the opposition leader, led a military-backed mass revolt in 1986 to topple the Marcos' administration. She took over and served as the country's top executive for six years. Marco, on the other hand, died on his exile to Hawaii, the United States in 1989. For decades, members of the two families, especially the elderly, shunned each other inmost public occasions. But signs of reconciliation showed as the Marcoses, led by former First Lady Imelda Marcos, offered prayer when the ailing Aquino was battling cancer and after she died. The Marcoses were "graciously" welcomed by Aquino's children and they stayed briefly to condole with the family, local television ANC reported. "We have our own beliefs as Filipinos. I thank them for coming," Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, son of "Cory" Aquino, said. "I can feel the pain, the loss of a loved one, so I am in prayer," said Marcos, who is in her 80s. "If these two families reconciled, there will be a miracle for the Philippines." The remains of the former president are expected to be buried Wednesday in the Memorial Park in suburban Manila. The family has turned down the offer of a state funeral.