Marcos burial brought closure and unity, Peralta claims

MANILA, Philippines — Allowing the burial of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos' remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani brought Filipinos and families of martial law victims closure, the justice who penned the ruling said.

Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta on Thursday faced the Judicial and Bar Council for a public interview for the chief justice post.

Toribio Ilao Jr., who represents the private sector on the JBC, asked Peralta if he thinks “the Filipinos found closure and the wounded family of the dead and injured by martial law were able to move on” since the burial of the late dictator.

Peralta penned the controversial ruling that allowed the burial of the late dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani—a development that sparked protests across the country.

READ: It’s final: SC junks plea to exhume Marcos remains

The justice stood by his decision and said: “If we do not bury that issue, then we cannot move on and I still believe that whatever is the past, we have to move on. We will not improve as a nation if we do that.”

He stressed that in his ponencia—or ruling—he explicitly stated that “there is a need to move on.”

“And I think we are moving on. The issues now are not about Marcos. There are so many issues other than the issue of burial of the late Marcos,” he added.

Decision brought unity, Peralta claims

Peralta added he thinks the burial brought unity to the country.

“We do not anymore receive or hear complaints about the burial of the late President Marcos. We are now focused on issues confronting the nation. Unlike before the burial, I believe there were so many issues unresolved during those times,” Peralta added.

The burial of Marcos is a campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte. Martial law victims sought the SC to stop Duterte’s order to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

But the SC, through Peralt's decision, upheld the constitutionality of Duterte’s order.

Martial law victims are also fighting to receive their compensation for the human rights violations during the Marcos regime.

The Presidential Commission on Good Governance—an agency facing abolition by Congress—continues to fight a legal battle to recover stolen wealth from the Marcoses.

READ: SC junks PCGG's P51-billion suit claim vs Marcoses, cronies

The public interview continues at the SC.