QUEZON City, Philippines (August 22) – Thousands of protesters arrived in Rizal Park despite of the bad weather in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement that allowing the Marcos family to bury the former President in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in September.
The protesters came to show their dissent to the President’s decision and to urge him to change it. Many politicians joined the protests – mainly members of the Liberal Party – former Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas III, Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Senator Leila De Lima, Senator Francis Pangilinan to name a few.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares and activist Bonifacio Ilagan argues that Marcos don’t deserve a slot in the National Shrine because burying him there will violate the Republic Act 289, Section 1 of which states that: “To perpetuate the memory of all the Presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn, there shall be constructed a National Pantheon which shall be the burial place of their mortal remains.” For Colmenares, former President Ferdinand Marcos is not worthy of emulation and not a source of inspiration.
Also against the idea of burying Former President Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is Vice President Leni Robredo. For her, to bury Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is to bury the Filipino people’s victory against his dictatorship. VP Robredo added that if Marcos was buried there, it will have a significant effect on those who fought the dictatorial Marcos regime as it would seem that all of their efforts just went to waste.
Despite of all the negative feedback, President Duterte wasn’t distracted by the protests against the late president Ferdinand Marcos. President Duterte said that his decision on the matter is final. The Department of National Defense said that Marcos is qualified to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because He is a former war-veteran, an ex-defense secretary, a soldier, and a former President.
Many Filipinos hate former President Ferdinand Marcos, mainly because of the bad things they experienced – whether directly or indirectly – during the martial law. On the other hand, many Filipinos also support the idea of a Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. There’s no denying that many Filipinos claim to suffer during his term but equally there is also no denying that he helped the Philippines to grow with his ambitious public works that improved the general quality of life. Not that infrastructure and economic development makes the deaths alright, but still, the man deserves to be finally laid to rest.
(written by Allyssa R. Del Rosario, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)