QUEZON City, Philippines (November 10) – Finally, after six petitions and two deferments because of status quo ante order, the Supreme Court gives the green light to the burial of late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
There had been various talks, opinions and reactions regarding this matter. Many anti-Marcos groups expressed their vehement objections even before former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada showed an early interest on pursuing the the late president’s burial.
People, especially the human rights victims consistently oppose the proposition because as for them, he was once a dictator and never manifested care for his people. Even though there are several cases that were filed against the former president, he was never convicted. He died before the courts were able to render their decisions, whether for or against. As such, there were no final judgments of moral turpitude and so this ground cannot be easily used as a premise of protestation.
From a more legal perspective, Marcos was found culpable regarding some political matters but those are all civil cases. Meaning, such findings are not enough to prohibit his interment.
Marcos loyalists, as well as President Rodrigo Duterte, stand for the fact that Marcos is a former soldier and a former commander-in-chief, both facts more than sufficient to allow for his interment in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. This was backed up by the released list of interment policy of the Libingan ng mga Bayani in accordance with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Regulation G 161-373.
The burial of Ferdinand Marcos received too much negativity. The burial will never rewrite history. Yes, his regime may seem to be a horror for some people but for the others, it still provides a good inspiration to push for our country to have a good economy again. He made the Philippines a diamond in Southeast Asian region during his time, let’s not set aside this fact.
What’s up with this slow moving-on process? Let’s face the reality, Marcos did a service to the country too, and his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not justify his martial law administration. Could we just give him peace and thank him for an early dictatorship that actually awakened our minds and souls not to let it happen again? He saved our future too, at some point. A good decision should not be based on emotions, it should be arrived at with less sentimental factors.
Forgive the past, and learn from the heartaches it brought to us. Living with it would just like be sick man who runs away from a doctor — he doesn’t want to be healed. Today, as Supreme Court finally releases the order as a go-signal to Marcos burial, we can do no better than just follow the decision of the highest court of the land because, dictatorship aside, he rendered the state service and this fact alone leaves him still qualified to a slot in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Source/s cited:
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/08/09/philippine-law-marcos-burial-legalities-libingan-ng-mga-bayani-heroes-cemetery.html
http://asianjournalusa.com/marcos-to-be-or-not-to-be-lnmb-p10455-168.htm
(written by Azon Silverio, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
