‘Bonifacio, not Marcos, is the real hero’

MESSAGE TO DUTERTE Demonstrators assail President Duterte’s decision to allow the burial of strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery in Taguig City, which was upheld by the Supreme Court last month, at the People Power Monument on Edsa. It was in the same area where hundreds of thousands of people mounted the Edsa uprising that led to the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship. —GRIG C.MONTEGRANDE

Militant lawmakers on Wednesday lauded Andres Bonifacio during the commemoration of his 153rd birthday, calling the father of the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain the real hero and not Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country with a mailed fist during the 1970s and 1980s.

The lawmakers raised the question of heroes to protest the Nov. 8 ruling of the Supreme Court that upheld the decision of President Duterte to allow the burial of Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The court gave opponents of the burial 15 days to appeal the ruling, but it had been only 10 days when the Marcoses, with help from the military and the police, surreptitiously buried the dictator with military honors at Libingan on Nov. 18.

Marcos imposed martial law on the Philippines in 1972 and brutally ruled the country for nearly two decades until a peaceful popular uprising toppled him from power in 1986.

His secrecy-shrouded burial at the heroes’ cemetery sparked protests across the country, which culminated on Wednesday with marches across the capital that denounced the Supreme Court and Mr. Duterte as the nation honored the memory of Bonifacio, founder of the Katipunan movement that revolted against Spain toward the end of the 19th century.

National hero

In a statement, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said he filed a bill and a resolution to recognize Bonifacio as a national hero and as the Philippines’ first President, instead of Emilio Aguinaldo.

“Let us give due recognition and respect [to] the likes of Gat Andres Bonifacio who sacrificed everything for the motherland,” Zarate said.

“We must also be wary of revisionists who peddle the lie that the likes of Emilio Aguinaldo and Ferdinand Marcos were heroes, as in fact these two were only looking out for their vested interests,” he said.

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao also issued a statement in which he lauded Bonifacio for leading the revolution that sought to end 300 years of oppression by Spanish colonizers, and denounced Marcos for imposing martial law on the Philippines to perpetuate himself in power.

“Today, we celebrate the 153rd birth anniversary of the Supremo, Andres Bonifacio, who led the masses of peasants, workers and other toiling masses in a successful armed revolution against more than 300 years of Spanish colonialism. The Filipino people and the youth should continue his struggle as the established ‘democratic’ government preserves feudalism, foreign domination and state oppression,” Casilao said.

“Martial law is an antithesis of democracy. A historical injustice by a dictator against the Filipinos, this is worse than colonialism, as those in power should be the ones protecting, not persecuting, the people,” he added.

Rights abuses

Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio also issued a statement praising Bonifacio for striving for independence from colonial rule, and condemning Marcos for his dictatorial rule and violations of human rights.

“Bonifacio is a true Filipino hero. His spirit lives in the Filipino people who continue to fight for independence, national democracy and genuine change for the country,” Tinio said.

“We also celebrate the modern-day Bonifacios, those who genuinely serve and protect the interest of the Filipino people, not the tyrants, dictators and human rights violators like Marcos,” he added.

Akbayan Rep. Tomasito Villarin, speaking during ceremonies commemorating the 153rd birthday of Bonifacio at Plaza Independencia in Cebu City, stressed that the Katipunan founder was a hero, but not Marcos.

“Today, as we are celebrate the birthday of Andres Bonifacio, let us declare that [he] was a hero and [that] Ferdinand Marcos was not. And [that Marcos] will never be a hero,” Villarin said.

Message for Duterte

Protesters in Manila had the same message for President Duterte.

“Digong! Digong! Hoy! Hoy!  ’Di bayani si Macoy,” about 2,000 left-leaning workers chanted as they marched from the Mabuhay Rotunda in Quezon City to Mendiola Street near Malacañang.

In a speech during a program on Mendiola, Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa, compared the Supreme Court to Pontius Pilate for siding with Mr. Duterte, and the President to Judas for allowing the burial of Marcos at Libingan.

“What happened [on] Nov. 18 was unacceptable,” Ellecer Carlos, spokesperson for the human rights group iDefend, said, referring to the burial of Marcos.

“It is an affront to the dignity and rights of all the victims of human rights violations during the dictatorship,” he said.

At the People Power Monument on Edsa, Quezon City, protesters chanted “Marcos, Hitler, diktador, tuta,” reminiscent of the cry of student activists against Marcos’ rule in the 1970s.

Artists joined the protest, denouncing the burial of Marcos at Libingan.

The rock band Moonstar88 led the crowd in condemning the burial of the dictator as a hero.

“Bes, we cannot move on,” the lead vocalist sang. “We don’t like thieves.”

Making a stand

Among the crowd were Grade 12 students from St. Paul College in Pasig City who joined the protest against the burial without their parents’ permission.

Clad in black, Cheyen Espiritu, Moira Gaspar and Lily (who refused to give her last name) said they joined the protest to make a stand.

“My parents are pro-Marcos, but I took a stand,” Lily said.

“I think my parents are blinded by what they are being fed. Duterte had no concrete plans for the country when he ran for President. I was like I can’t trust this person easily,” she said.

Espiritu said she came to experience what her parents went through in opposing the Marcos regime.

“[I want to know] what it feels like being out in the streets,” she said.

For Gaspar, Marcos does not deserve the honors extended to him by the Duterte administration.

“There are still many people suffering, the victims’ bodies are nowhere to be found. It’s really unfair to the people. I feel sorry for them,” she said.

Even environmentalists condemned the hero’s burial of Marcos.

EcoWaste Coalition issued a statement calling Marcos a “tyrant” and describing his burial at the heroes’ cemetery as “shameless.”

A group of students that had been protesting in front of the Libingan gate since Tuesday said Mr. Duterte should be held accountable for allowing the burial.

“We call for [Marcos’] body to be exhumed from [Libingan ng mga Bayani] because he does not deserve to be buried there,” Kat Leuch, a spokesperson for the group, said.

Other cities

Protests were also held in other parts of the country.

In Cebu City, protesters broke ground for a marker honoring opponents of martial law from Cebu province and those who perished in the struggle against Marcos’ rule.

In Iloilo City, protesters dressed in mourning marched to denounce the burial of Marcos at Libingan.

In Bacolod City, workers gathered at a rotunda to condemn the burial.

Hundreds marched across Lucena and Legazpi in Albay province to protest the burial and call for the holding of Mr. Duterte to account for it.

In San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, protests began on Tuesday night, with 20 artists turning a drinking session into poetry reading criticizing the burial of Marcos at Libingan. —WITH REPORTS FROM JEROME ANING, JAYMEE T. GAMIL, JODEE A. AGONCILLO, JOVIC YEE, KRISTINE FELISSE MANGUNAY, JHESSET ENANO, AIE BALAGTAS SEE AND DEXTER CABALZA IN MANILA; JOSE SANTINO S. BUNACHITA, INQUIRER VISAYAS; NESTOR P. BURGOS JR. AND CARLA P. GOMEZ, INQUIRER VISAYAS; MADONNA T. VIROLA, DELFIN T. MALLARI JR. AND REY ANTHONY OSTRIA, INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON