Joma Sison OK with Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison has said it is a nonissue for him and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines if the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos will be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Speaking at a rare press conference in Quezon City on Thursday via Skype, Sison said that he approved of the interment of Marcos in the said cemetery because the place did not live up to its name of being a burial ground for national heroes.

He said historically, Libingan was a former cemetery for members of the American and Philippine military.

“Ang palagay ay mga tunay na bayani talaga yung nasa Libingan na ’yan. Pangalan lang ’yan eh. Kailan ba in-adopt yung pangalan na yan? Karamihan [ng nakalibing diyan ay] mga Usaffe (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) at mga sundalo ng reaksyunaryong hukbo,” Sison said.

“Si Marcos, kahit pekeng sundalo siya sa matagal na panahon, ay totoong sundalo siya noong panahon ng Bataan. So puwede siyang ilibing diyan.”

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has justified his decision to accord Marcos a hero’s burial by saying that the former dictator used to be a soldier.

“In addition to being a President, he was a soldier. So ’yung sinabi mo noon (na) dinakip ng martial law, nandiyan ang korte. (So those who were arrested during the martial law, the courts are there for you),” Duterte said.

Sison, however, said he still sympathized with martial law victims who oppose the said move.

“Pero nakikisimpatya naman ako doon sa may ayaw kasi ’yun ang presumption, na mga bayani talaga ang nakalibing diyan,” he said.

Sison said it would be fitting for Marcos to be buried there as the late dictator would be in the company of past presidents who were “traitors” to the Filipino people.

“Bagay na magkatabi-tabi yung mga taksil sa bayan. Si Marcos, bagay na itabi kay [Elpidio] Quirino na corrupt din,” Sison said.

Three Philippine presidents are buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani: Quirino, Carlos P. Garcia and Diosdado Macapagal.

Asked about the NDFP’s stance on the issue, spokesperson Fidel Agcaoili backed Sison in not treating the Libingan ng mga Bayani as a hallowed ground for heroes.

He said the controversial issue would not derail the long-stalled peace talks between the NDFP and the Philippine government.

“Calling it a Libingan ng mga Bayani is a misnomer. It is not going to be an issue that will break peace negotiations between us and Duterte,” Agcaoili said./rga.