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MANILA - Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos said Monday she wants a reconciliation with the family of former leader Corazon Aquino, whose "People Power" revolution forced Marcos' husband from office.
Aquino, whose husband was Ferdinand Marcos' arch-enemy and was assassinated by his forces after returning home from exile in 1983, died at the weekend following a more than year-long battle with cancer.
"I can feel the pain, the loss of a loved one, so I am in prayer. If these two families reconciled, there will be a miracle for the Philippines," Marcos said on local television.
The Aquino family earlier said members of the Marcos family could attend the wake for the former president, who died Saturday at the age of 76, but should not expect a warm welcome.
Marcos' comments came after the youngest of Aquino's children, Kristina Bernadette Aquino, thanked Marcos for offering Sunday prayers for her mother. "I never thought the time would come (that I would say this), but thank you to the Marcoses for really praying for Mom," Aquino said.
Marcos' aides have said the former first lady or her children may attend Aquino's wake later Monday, although there were no concrete plans.
Aquino led a popular revolution that toppled Ferdinand Marcos's brutal 20-year regime. The Marcos family was forced into exile in Hawaii, where the former dictator died in 1989.
Imelda and her children were subsequently allowed by Aquino to return home, although no member of the Marcos family has been prosecuted.
The Marcoses are alleged to have plundered the government coffers of up to 10 billion dollars from the national treasury.
In an interview with AFP when she turned 80 last month, Marcos said she bore no anger towards Aquino, and offered prayers for her swift recovery.
Marcos is known worldwide for her 3,000 pairs of shoes that symbolised her opulent and excessive lifestyle.
She has also said she felt vindicated that courts have not convicted her of any crime 23 years after they were deposed from power.
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