Police watch over the premises of the Libingan ng mga Bayani in time for the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos. TARRA QUISMUNDO/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
The atrocities of the Marcos regime will not be buried with him at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
For a Catholic priest, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos will forever be a dictator and a plunderer even if he is laid to rest among heroes and statesmen.
“With his burial, the Marcoses have desecrated the meaning of honor, nobility and heroism that are otherwise associated with that hallowed ground,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano.
Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Friday noon, a surprise move which was only confirmed that day by police and military officials.
READ: PNP, AFP confirm Marcos to be buried at Libingan today
Despite the protests and objections of anti-Marcos forces, the burial was finally realized after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered it so, which was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court.
Secillano, parish priest of the Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro Parish in Sampaloc, Manila, said the late President will “forever be a dictator, plunderer and human rights violator.”
“The atrocities committed by the late president against the Filipino people will not be buried with him at the Libingan ng mga Bayani,” he stressed.
For Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the clandestine manner in which Marcos was buried was “characteristic of the Marcos rule—secretive.”
READ: Marcos laid to rest in ‘sneaky’ rites at Libingan ng mga Bayani
“This burial is dishonorable because they hide it from the people for fear of the people,” he added. RAM/rga
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