OP-ED

Does Marcos deserve a heros burial?

ARTICLE

By Gel Santos Relos

Published: November 9, 2016 | No Comments

THE headline back home in the Philippines eclipsed the U.S. Presidential
Election last November 8. The Supreme Court of the Philippines just ruled that the remains of
the deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos may be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
The highest courts 9-5 decision ended a decade-long debate: did Marcos deserve to be buried
with heroes who fought and died for the Philippines? This ruling effectively junked seven
consolidated petitions to block Pres. Rodrigo Dutertes move to allow the burial of the late
dictator in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
According to the Supreme Court ruling, Duterte did not abuse his executive power in giving the
go signal for Marcos to be buried in the Libingan, as advocated by the Marcos family.
The High Court explanation concurred with Dutertes rationale, stating that Marcos is qualified
to be buried in the Libingan because he was a former president, commander-in-chief, a soldier,
Medal of Valor awardee, legislator, and Secretary of National Defense.
Not many kababayans are happy about the Supreme Court decision, even among those who
voted for Duterte.
But Malacaang said the Duterte administration hopes the matter will finally be laid to rest so
that the nation can move forward.
Among the many arguments against the Supreme Court decision was that of Sen. Francis
Pangilinan, who was then head of the UP student government during the Marcos regime. His
message articulated the disgust and opposition of Filipinos about this issue. To quote Sen.
Pangilinan:
This is a horrible day for democracy.
Thanks to the Supreme Court, the Philippines will be a laughing stock of the world. We kicked
out a reviled dictator and now we are honoring him by burying him in our national heroes
cemetery. No less than our Supreme Court wants our citizens, our children to honor a plunderer
and tyrant. This is shameful and deplorable.
Now the Supreme Court wants Mr. Marcos, who it previously called a dictatorwho caused
twenty years of political, economic and social havoc in the country, buried alongside our
heroes.
Rather than effect closure as the final arbiter of all disputes, the Supreme Court has reopened old
wounds. If the Supreme Court thinks it has the final say on the matter, then they are terribly
mistaken. Burying Marcos in the Libingan has created a huge divide that will haunt the nation
for days and years to come.
The law creating the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Republic Act 289, reserved its sacred grounds for
heroes to be emulated by this generation and of generations still unborn.
Marcos is not a hero. His burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani desecrates our democracy and the
memory of those who fought for freedom and justice in our country.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFCs Balitang America. Views and opinions expressed by
the author in this columnare are solely those of the authorand not of Asian Journal and ABS-
CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com,
https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
Published in Op-Ed