Filipinos Protest against Hero’s Burial for Ferdinand Marcos
Zamboanga, the Philippines, 11 Dzulqa’dah 1437/14 August 2016 (MINA) – Some 1,000 Filipino protesters braved heavy rains Sunday to voice objection to the burial of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the country’s hero cemetery.
Placard-bearing demonstrators gathered at the Lapu-Lapu Monument in Manila’s Rizal Park urging President Rodrigo Duterte to retract his order according the former president a hero’s burial.
Among them were Martial law victims, students, members of Catholic organizations, and several prominent politicians.
“Heaven is with us now crying because it doesn’t want Marcos to be buried in the hero’s cemetery,” Rappler quoted former Commission on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales as telling the crowd as rains lashed Manila.
Last week, Duterte gave the go-ahead for the burial of Marcos at the cemetery, possibly next month, explaining that he is entitled to a plot given that he is a former soldier and president.
Marcos, who ruled the Philippines with an iron fist for 20 years under martial law, was forced to flee the country by a peaceful “people power” revolt in 1986.
He died in Sept. 28, 1989 while in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his preserved remains have been kept in the family’s museum and mausoleum in the northern province of Ilocos since.
On Sunday, former senator Wigberto Tanada, another martial law victim, called on Duterte to withdraw his order.
“President Duterte withdraw your decision to bury Marcos at the hero’s cemetery Your decision is wrong and does not follow the law related to this issue,” he is reported to have said.
Tanada was referring to Republic Act 10368, signed in 2013, which orders the reparation and recognition of the sacrifices of human rights victims during the Marcos regime.
Issues of medals claimed belonging to Marcos
Last week, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines asked Duterte not to allow the burial, saying the medals his family claimed he received for exploits in World War II do not belong to him.
“In the paper [submitted to Duterte] one can see the medals — Distinguished Service Cross, Order of the Purple Heart, Silver Star — are not his,” commission chairperson Maria Serena Diokno said.
She claimed that the guerrilla unit, “Ang Maharlika [nobility]” that Marcos claimed he formed during the Japanese occupation, is not recognized by the United States.
“In history, if there is claim that is proven not true, it is not accepted,” Diokno said.
It has also cast doubt on other claims Marcos has made about his role in the resistance
Diokno underlined that it was her duty as chairperson to order a review and make a recommendation to Duterte following his statements.
“It is not right to give such recognition to a person when many things he said [are] not true and doubtful,” she said.
Duterte has said he will allow Marcos opponents to protest against the burial. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
