English Articles
MARTIAL LAW VICTIMS ASK SC TO STOP MARCOS BURIAL AT HEROES CEMETERY
Victims of martial law have asked the Supreme Court to stop the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, or the Heroes Cemetery.
In a 30-page petition filed by the National Union of People’s Lawyers, the victims asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order as the burial is contrary to the Constitution and violates existing laws.
“He is not entitled to any hero’s burial notwithstanding the fact of his presidency, which he overly abused, and his military record, which remains dubious up to present,” the petition said.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the armed forces to bury Marcos, who was president from 1965 to 1986, as a soldier.
No date has set for the burial of Marcos, who died in Hawaii in 1989 at the age of 82. His body is in his home province of Ilocos Norte.
But the petitioners said Marcos’ military stint during World War II does not entitle him to a hero’s burial. They cited a study by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which says Marcos’ claim of being a bemedalled World War II hero failed to pass verification.
The petitioners said Marcos’ ouster through People Power on February 1986, is enough to disqualify him from being buried at the Heroes Cemetery.
“To be collectively ousted from office for moral decadence and depravity is dishonorable enough and such political action by the Filipino is far, far greater than a judicial conviction for a crime that involves moral turpitude,” they said.
The petitioners said if Marcos’ burial is allowed, it would likely jeopardize their US$2 billion claim for damages against the Marcoses for their human rights violations.
“The said judgment is pending execution and the burial of Marcos in LMB could affect the already difficult search for Marcos hidden wealth and the full execution of the judgment,” the petitioners said.
Named respondents in the petition were Rear Admiral Ernesto Enriquez, deputy chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); General Ricardo Visaya, AFP Chief of Staff; Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; and the heirs of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.
