The issue of the proposed Marcos burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani has been hounding us for some time. President Noynoy Aquino had the opportunity to address the issue and clarified that there will be no burial in the heroes’ cemetery for the former dictator during his watch.
Immediately Aquino was criticized for his statement but he was in the right. The Marcoses have not asked for forgiveness from the Filipino people and are even proud of what their family has done when Marcos was in power. The Philippine government has not yet compensated victims of the abuses of the Marcos regime. It would be unfair to give Marcos a state burial.
Personally I may have forgotten and forgiven the Marcoses for what they did to the country and yet I believe the former president does not deserve to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Remember what national hero Jose Rizal said: “Those responsible for the plunder of the nation do not deserve to share in its glory.” What Marcos did to our country and people, especially to Ninoy Aquino, father of the president, left bitter memories. Marcos looted the coffers. One must remember that the Philippines was only second to Japan when it came to economic progress when Marcos became the president. When he left in disgrace in 1986, the country was nearly at the same level as Bangladesh among the poorest nation in Asia.
The looting of select businesses and the summary execution of students and opposition figures was at its peak during the time of Marcos who declared Martial Law in 1972. But I think the worst thing that Marcos did was deprive us of our most cherished freedoms like a free press. The rights of the people enshrined in the Philippine Constitution were trampled upon. Marcos exercised both executive and legislative powers and virtually controlled the judiciary. He destroyed the two-party system and political parties. Marcos undermined the independence of media by closing down newspapers, and television and radio stations critical of his administration.
Marcos paid off some media during his time to say good words about his administration. Many of us cannot forget the struggle of those times to regain democracy. Some died for it.
Those who didn’t experience martial law and the Marcos regime should ask those who survived it to understand the sacrifices made. Truly Marcos was a brilliant man but he used his brilliance for his own interests.
Many Filipinos believed they were “the king’s good servant but God’s first.” Today the country is still struggling with the vestiges of the Marcos regime still among us, holding power.
Remember that many of our local politicos were Marcos loyalists and still in power. It will be a long journey for the country’s recovery and to advance to become a tiger in Asia. We missed the opportunity to lay foundations when Marcos was at the helm.
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What’s with the Supreme Court that their decision can be changed just because of a letter from a former Marcos loyalist like lawyer Estelito Mendoza? This is not the first time a “final” decision of the SC was changed because of the letter.
In the current, the SC decision reinstating flight attendants of Philippine Air Lines was already final only to be withdrawn.
A similiar happened to the case of the League of City Mayors which questioned the validity of the creation of new cities. The new cities won the case in the Supreme Court because of the letter of Mendoza. In the League of Cities case, the High Court already ruled that the creation of new cities was not valid. IN fact, an entry of judgment was already made but it was reversed.
I think the High Court should take the criticism against it as a positive reaction of the people toward questionable conduct.