More cases filed against Philippine strongman’s burial

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines

A third petition has been filed against the burial of Philippines strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at the country's hero cemetery, prompting the Supreme Court to order their consolidation.

Those who filed the latest petition said Friday that such a burial would be “tantamount to denial of the country’s authoritarian past” and “condonation of the abuses committed by the Marcos regime”, which lasted 20 years, according to GMA News.

“Burying him [Marcos] in the heroes’ cemetery undermines the fundamental recognition of his crimes. It takes away the very historical basis on which so much of our present constitutional order was anchored, by design,” said the petition. “It declares him a hero, when the premise of our entire Constitution is that he was the exact opposite: A tyrant. A human rights violator. A thief. A villain.”

Last weekend, some 1,000 protesters braved heavy rains to urge President Rodrigo Duterte to retract his order according a hero's burial for the former president, whose rule saw the imposition of martial law for around a decade.

Earlier this month, 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 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 Norte since his family’s return.

The latest petition -- led by former Commission on Human Rights chairperson Etta Rosales -- argues that the burial plan violates the Philippines’ international obligations and constitutional provisions tasking the government with educating the youth on values of honesty and transparency.

It underlined that the plan also breaches a 1993 deal between the government and the Marcos family that the ex-president be buried in his home province.

“Thus, there is a need for injunctive relief in this case lest the petitioners and the entire Filipino people will be subjected again to the same indignity, hurt and damage that they already went through under the Marcos regime.”

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has also asked Duterte not to allow the burial, saying the medals Marcos’ family claimed he received for exploits in World War II do not belong to him.

Duterte has said he will allow Marcos opponents to protest against the burial, and would respect the Supreme Court’s decision over the petitions.