President hems, haws on Marcos burial site

FILIPINOS are dragging their feet in coming to terms with their past under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

It is as though our legs are bolted to iron balls, unable to break away from the shackles of that darkest period of Philippine modern political history—the 14 years of authoritarian rule from September 1972 to the February 1986 People Power Revolution.

The issue of that past came to a head on Feb. 15, when the late dictator’s son, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., had the gall to call for the burial of his father at Libingan ng mga Bayani (Cemetery of Heroes), on the grounds that he was a war hero and the longest-serving President of the country (from 1965 to 1986).

The call provoked a deeply divisive public debate, aggravated by the fact that Marcos Jr. rubbed salt on festering wounds when he made the insensitive proposal in the run-up to the national celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution that toppled the dictatorship, drove Marcos, his family and cohorts to flee for their lives to Honolulu, Hawaii, (and enjoy their loot thereafter) and restored Philippine democracy.

The proposal not only outraged nearly half of the nation, made up of citizens who suffered atrocities and abuses inflicted by the dictatorship, tempting some of the victims to rush back to the streets to garrote the remnants of the Marcos political heirs, some of whom have been accused and found guilty of plunder and of accumulating “ill-gotten” wealth.

Outrageous, offensive

This inflammatory issue has not only refueled the hatred and the grievances of the past; worse, it has impaled the current democratic government in the horns of dilemma of what to do with Marcos’ remains (now displayed in the family museum in Batac, Ilocos Norte)—whether to allow his burial on grounds declared as a shrine for heroes, with rites giving him a state funeral befitting heroes, an accolade this government is not prepared to bestow on Marcos without vitiating its credentials as the custodian or keeper of the seal of its legacy as the legitimate heir of the People Power Revolution that ended the dictatorship and that was led by the Edsa heroine, Cory Aquino, the mother of P-Noy (President Benigno Aquino III) and the widely acknowledged icon of the restoration of Philippine democracy.

Mr. Aquino had been expected to put his foot down on the outrageous and offensive proposal to bury Marcos in the Valhalla of Filipino patriots and heroes, and to prove himself as as worthy heir of the Edsa tradition and of his mother’s political legacy—the only memorable contribution to Philippine democracy of an administration that tragically turned out to have fallen short of initiating sweeping social reform.

In the first test of his ability to provide leadership on issues that define the direction of the restored Philippine democracy, P-Noy disappointed many of those who had expected him to define his position as the fount of policy and ideology of his administration that has received one of the broadest electoral mandates in recent history and that has enjoyed one of the most trusted ratings in public opinion for his integrity.

Hemmed and hawed

Instead of categorically stating that he approved or disapproved of Marcos’ burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani or that he considered Marcos a hero deserving the highest honors within the gift of this nation—a state funeral—P-Noy quibbled, hemmed and hawed, and delegated the responsibility to make the decision to Vice President Jejomar Binay.

P-Noy excused the evasion with the unconvincing explanation that “Whatever I say will be biased. So I’m thinking of inhibiting himself on the matter,” adding, “Let somebody who has less personal attachment decide on it.”

P-Noy reminded that his father, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., and Marcos were bitter political rivals.

That’s not news. Almost everyone knows that, but what has it got to do with the presidential decision on whether to allow the burial of the dictator at Libingan ng mga Bayani?

The thing that is important to many people is what’s the conviction of P-Noy on an issue in which they seek illumination on his political values on what is public virtue.

During the first 100 days of his presidency, P-Noy showed on several occasions he had been indecisive and delegated decision-making to his aides, some of them turning out to be second-rate advisers. P-Noy gave himself away when he said, “Well, (Binay) also has strong opinion about the matter (the assassination of Senator Aquino), but it is likely there would be less criticism that he’d take on the issue at a personal level.

“(Binay) will give it a fair hearing then he will … tell me the results of the study,” P-Noy said.

Using Binay to take flak

In other words, P-Noy is using Binay to take the flak from Marcos supporters if Binay recommended the rejection of the Marcos petition.

P-Noy is only too fully aware that his public satisfaction rating has dropped sharply and Binay has been receiving a higher rating than the President.

Apparently, Binay does not want to be a fall guy and is playing games with the President. Binay is known to be closely associated with Cory Aquino as one of her lawyers in their opposition to Marcos in the 1986 snap election.

On the burial of Marcos, Binay wants the people to decide and has sent out letters seeking the opinion of political parties, civic groups and other important sectors of civil society.

Based on the survey, Binay would recommend to the President “the best course of action.”

Shrine of shame

Published documents and records show that a significant section of public opinion has already made up its mind that Marcos does not deserve to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani as a hero.

The bulk of this evidence consists of war records of Marcos as a member of the resistance movement against the Japanese occupation, government investigations into charges of accumulation of ill-gotten wealth and kleptocratic corruption of his administration and human rights atrocities on his political opponents.

Marcos’ case is extraordinary. What makes it extraordinary is that he was the only Filipino President who destroyed a functioning democracy and imposed a dictatorship, and who was overthrown by the people in the streets.

Also, during his presidency, his crony and corruption-ridden regime, sent the economy to its knees with policies that made the country an Asian basket case after relative prosperity in decades prior to his dictatorship.

It is these considerations that should determine whether Marcos deserves to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Anything less than these would justify the abolition of the cemetery as a pantheon of heroes and turning it into a shrine of national shame.