Focus on the late dictator’s resting place

Practically every columnist in the country has already written about how they feel about President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to bury the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ remains in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. This has been a hotbed of controversy for the last few weeks when the president made it quite clear that he was set on giving the former dictator a hero’s funeral. This was obviously met with great resistance and many are still questioning his decision.

A few months ago in a previous column, I weighed in with my own thoughts about allowing Marcos in Libingan. I thought that it was laughable that it was even up for consideration. I still feel the same today. I think our country would become a global joke if we so blindly choose to ignore our past and pretend that none of it ever happened by burying the man who quashed the rights of thousands of Filipinos alongside those we consider heroes and great men of the country.

Though I wasn’t able to join the Luneta protest last weekend due to the incessant rains, my thoughts were with those who chose to peacefully protest. I understood what they were protesting and why it was so important to them, to all of us, that the former dictator should not be given a hero’s burial.

In fact, I clearly remember when I originally protested against former president Marcos and Martial Law many years ago. We took to the streets after soldiers shot Ninoy Aquino at the Manila International Airport tarmac as he alighted from his commercial flight from Taiwan. That was a turning point in our lives when the country was plunged into the abyss of dictatorship, a darkness from which we thought we would never recover.

But, luckily, we managed to pull ourselves out of depths, quietly, peacefully. And while we may have moved on and focused on becoming a stronger, democratic, free nation, we never really truly forgot what happened to so many of our countrymen during the dark years. At least, most of us never forgot. It really does seem as if there are many who simply sweep the atrocities under the rug.

Or perhaps there are those who truly choose not to remember. That can be the only explanation for the strong support for giving Marcos a hero’s funeral. After all, if we truly remembered the horrific events of martial law wouldn’t we all be protesting the decision to let the man behind so much pain rest with so many who gave their lives for the Philippines? Wouldn’t we be protesting with one strong voice? It truly seems as if there is an educational gap in the school system because so many of the younger generation don’t know anything about our dark past.

In fact, it’s become so bad that the common response is a flippant “It’s time to move on,” usually uttered by someone who wasn’t even alive at the time. I highly doubt they would so easily say that had they been there when people would disappear and when so many were ruthlessly tortured or worse. Yes, martial law victims may have moved on from the past, after all, what choice did they have? But that doesn’t mean they should just keep quiet and let history begin to repeat itself. And as for forgiveness? Well, to be quite frank, forgiveness should only be given to those who ask for it and as far as I can tell that hasn’t happened.

At this point, the only hope of stopping the burial of the former president in Libingan has to come from the courts. President Duterte has made his position clear. Martial Law victims and those opposed to the burial have appealed to the Supreme Court to step in. They stressed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) guidelines disqualify soldiers guilty of moral turpitude from being buried in the hero’s cemetery. They believe the massive human right violations committed during the Marcos regime should be enough to be considered guilty of moral turpitude.

What’s more, the protestors also included in their petition the Marcos family deal with the government during the time of former president Fidel Ramos, which allowed for the late dictator’s return to the country as long as his family agreed for him to be buried in Ilocos Norte. I would think that that should already be pretty open and shut. Should we not hold the Marcos family to the same standard as everyone else? Should their deal with the government not be upheld?

President Duterte has been quite firm and unmoving when it comes to this decision. It’s no secret that he has a good relationship with the Marcos family. Many still recall when he didn’t invite Vice President Leni Robredo to an event because it “might hurt Bongbong’s feelings.” Are we surprised he is allowing the former dictator’s burial in Libingan simply because he was a former president? No. But that doesn’t mean we should just stand aside and let it happen. I think De Lima said it best when she said, “what will be buried is not a Dictator but his victims and the truth they cannot deny.”

There is still time before the planned burial in September and we can only wait to see what happens. I hope the Supreme Court will get involved. According to President Duterte’s spokesperson, he will respect whatever decision the courts make.