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Former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. lashed out on Friday the heirs of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who have been bragging about some of the projects during their father's regime, saying these would not compensate for the loss of even one life.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, Pimentel, who was detained four times during the martial law years, also hit former Senator and Marcos' Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile for claiming that no one was arrested due to political or religious belief during the Marcos regime.

"Maybe he already forgot about me. That's a part of aging," said 84-year old Pimentel to 94-year old Enrile.

Marcos' only son, former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, had a video posted on social media showing his interview of Enrile on Thursday, eve of the 46th anniversary of Marcos declaration of martial law on September 21, 1972.

During their discussion, Enrile challenged to name at least one person who was arrested during martial law because he simply criticized Marcos. He said there was none.

Pimentel said despite Enrile's defection to Marcos during the 1986 People Power Revolution, he has "always been a defender of martial rule."

"As a matter of fact, there was a time that he and General Fidel Ramos at that time seceded from their association with the Marcos regime. But apparently, the idea of autocratic rule still persists in his mind that sometimes you have to be autocratic in order to bring about a better development of the nation. I disagree with that and I still maintain that you can achieve this good for our people without depriving them of their liberties and their freedoms," he said.

Ramos was head of the Philippine Constabulary, now the Philippine National Police. He and Ramos withdrew their support to Marcos and joined the millions of Filipinos in the bloodless revolution in February 1986 that resulted to Marcos' ouster.

Corazon Aquino, wife of late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was Marcos' staunch critic, was catapulted to power.

Pimentel also scoffed at Marcos' heirs who have been consistent in saying their father had done many good things for the Philippines during his two-decade presidency.

"Some of his heirs are justifying it (Marcos' continued stay in power), look at the roads, look at PICC, it's beautiful. But brothers, how many kilometers of asphalted roads would compensate for the loss of one life? Would building you know, huge edifices, beautiful ones, satisfy the need for sacrificing the lives of so many people?" he said.

If he was not mistaken, Pimentel said some 15,000 Filipinos have come out in the open to claim for compensation because they were victims of Marcos' dictatorship.

He said the millennials should know history.

"Many died, many disappeared among our fellowmen. So that perhaps could be the message to the millennials, to be careful because you must always remember that the end never justifies the means. The objective is good, the (roads) were made of asphalt, etcetera, but you kill people in the process, deprive them of their liberty, it could not be allowed," Pimentel stressed. Celerina Monte/DMS