That’s democracy at work, Panelo says of SC decision

President Duterte’s chief legal counsel on Thursday tried to mollify the indignation of Filipinos opposed to the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng Mga Bayani.

Salvador Panelo, a former anti-Marcos activist, said all Filipinos, including those who fought the Marcos dictatorship, should congratulate themselves after the court ruled because this showed democracy at work.

“The Court’s decision in the final analysis should be considered a victory not only for the former President’s sympathizers, but also for those who paid with their lives in fighting the former President in the name of democracy and the rule of law,” Panelo said in a statement.

“For today, despite the former President’s transgressions, and after a fair and transparent process, the Supreme Court decided—an action supported by the results of a democratic election—on the basis of law and only law,” he added.

He said Mr. Duterte, who took office after a democratic election, decided to allow Marcos’ burial at Libingan. The President’s decision was challenged by those who opposed it and took their case to the Supreme Court, he said.

The court heard both sides in sessions open to the media, and eventually voted 9-5 on Tuesday, “in favor of the burial on the basis of applicable law and regulation, established legal principles, and the Constitution ‘built on the ashes of the former President’s regime,’” Panelo said.

Panelo said he sympathizes with martial law victims and their families, but the court process was democracy in action in stark contrast to the Marcos regime.

Respecting each other’s opinions is part of a healthy democracy, and forcing one’s views on others is not, he said.

“Congratulations are in order to all Filipinos,” Panelo said. “Ironic as it may be to some, the days of tyrannical rule by one man or by the ruling elite appear to be behind us more so than at any point in our country’s post-martial law history.”

Panelo also said the ruling does not make Marcos a hero.

“What is clear from public sentiment is that he will remain a scoundrel to some and hero to others,” he said.

“The truth is: heroes are heroes whether they are buried at the Libingan or under a pile of rock; and ditto for scoundrels. It is each Filipino’s opinion of the former President, and not his final resting place, that will ultimately cement his status as hero or scoundrel,” he added.

But former Sen. Wigberto Tañada, whose father Lorenzo Tañada was among the leading figures who fought martial law, said the court’s ruling betrays the “spirit and the sacrifices of thousands of victims of torture, disappearances, and ‘salvagings’ of the martial law years.”

The court’s ruling was a big mistake and an injustice, which disrespects the Filipino people, said Tañada.

“When we ratified the 1987 Constitution, we vowed that ‘never again’ shall we tolerate the evils of dictatorship that was embodied by Marcos. To elevate him to the status of ‘hero’ by allowing him to be buried at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani is both a disgrace and a betrayal of what is best in the Filipino,” he said in a statement.