MUST a Filipino be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani just because he was a president and/or a soldier? Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte believes so, contending that this is what the law of the land says and that he, as the president, is duty bound to execute what the law mandates.
This is the rationale behind his decision to allow the burial of deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, something the Marcos family has been advocating for years.
After 27 years, the remains of Marcos — unburied and displayed in a glass coffin in a refrigerated crypt in his hometown of Batac, Ilocos Norte — will be buried on September 18.
Marcos’ widow Imelda Romualdez Marcos, children Imee, Bongbong and Irene, have all vowed to keep him there until the government gives in to their demands for a burial in the National Heroes’ Cemetery with full military honors. After the tenure of Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo, and Noynoy Aquino, they found an ally in Rodrigo Duterte.
The National Heroes’ Cemetery (Libingan ng mga Bayani) was created by virtue of Republic Act 289, also known as “An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes and Patriots of the Country.”
But Filipinos who lived through the Marcos administration — especially those who were victims of martial law or those who had been widowed, orphaned or lost all they worked so hard for because of the abuses and human rights violations — have intensified their protest against Duterte’s decision.
As ABS-CBN News reported, human rights victims during martial law and people’s organizations filed a petition with the high court on Monday, August 15, urging Malacañang’s order for Marcos’s burial to be set aside. Instead, the cemetery should continue to be dedicated for war heroes, soldiers, former presidents of the Philippines, and national artists.
Most of these petitioners are plaintiffs in a class suit filed in the 1990s in a Hawaii Court against Marcos’ estate seeking to recover compensation for the “human rights violations perpetrated during the Marcos dictatorship.”
According to the petitioners, Duterte’s order was “void” for being “patently illegal and was made with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction,” and that allowing Marcos’s burial in Libingan ng mga Bayani would be a mockery of Philippine democracy.
The petition further stated the following, as reported by ABS-CBN News:
“Apart from the human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship, the fact remains undisputed that Marcos and his family, during his term, acquired billions worth of ill-gotten wealth, some of which are still subjects of pending litigations while much remain hidden.”
The petition further stated, ”Moreover, the foreign debt his administration incurred ballooned and actually rendered future generations of Filipinos, even those still unborn, heavily indebted by the millions.”
Petitioners also raised the issue on a study conducted by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) which states that Marcos’ claims of being a bemedalled World War II hero “failed to pass the test of historical verification.”
Petitioners also pointed out that an agreement between the Philippine government and the Marcos family in 1993 provided the following conditions for the return of Marcos’ remains to the Philippines:
a) That the body of Pres. Marcos will be immediately transported to Ilocos Norte upon arrival without fanfare;
b) That the body of Pres. Marcos be buried in Ilocos Norte; and
c) The ceremony for the burial was to be for military honors for the rank of major.
Duterte refused to join in the debate of whether Marcos was a hero or not. He said in a press conference, “Ang Pilipinas… is you need only to be a president and a solider. Nobody is debating about heroes here. Assuming it to be true na wala siyang medalya or not validated by an American record does not mean that he is not qualified to be buried there. So what’s the objection?”
Duterte further contended: “I would like to say forget about the medals. Just focus on whether he is a Filipino. He fought for his country, and he’s once upon a time a president. That’s the law! We cannot go out of the law….Nobody is questioning about he’s a hero. I am not dwelling on his exploits.”
“Alam mo kasi, kung ginusto nila – and they were already in power at the time, itong mga yellow – dapat nagpasa sila ng batas na hindi puwedeng ilibing si Marcos when the guy was already in Guam in exile. They should have passed a law prohibiting Marcos if ever he comes home dead to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. But nothing has been done. Bakit kinalimutan ang elementary procedure na ‘yan?” argued Duterte.
But it seems 30 years after Marcos has been overthrown by the Peoples’ Power Revolution in 1986, public opinion is now favorable to the Marcoses’ demand and Duterte’s decision — if the opinions of a majority of Filipinos in America are concerned.
In an online viewers’ poll of The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America, 55 percent of those who voted said Marcos should be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani because he was a president and a soldier. These Marcos supporters, and even those who were not really big fans of Marcos, argue that it is time for the nation to “move on,” and that Duterte’s move will help unify the country that has been divided especially after the 1986 People Power.
Do you agree?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
