MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its temporary ban on the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at a heroes’ cemetery after a hearing during which some justices questioned whether President Rodrigo Duterte abused his executive power and violated laws by allowing the entombment, which is opposed by the Marcos regime’s human rights victims.

The court gave both sides 20 days to submit statements before issuing a ruling. An earlier court order temporarily halted the burial until Sept. 12 while the cases were being heard.

Solictor General Jose Calida defended Duterte’s directive, saying it is within the president’s power and a political issue on which the court should not rule. He said Marcos, as a former president and war veteran who was not dishonorably discharged from the military, is qualified to be buried at the cemetery.

Burying a dictator accused of massive rights violations and corruption at the Heroes’ Cemetery has long been an emotional and divisive issue in the Philippines, where Marcos was ousted by a “people power” revolt in 1986. He flew to Hawaii, where he lived with his wife and children in exile until he died in 1989. His body was flown back to his hometown in 1993, where it has been displayed in a glass coffin. But his family wants his remains transferred to the Heroes’ Cemetery.

During Wednesday’s hearing, about 200 supporters of the late dictator picketed outside the court, some carrying a streamer that said “Bury the dead, follow the law.” Another group of activists opposing the burial held up a banner that said “Marcos is no hero!” and chanted “Marcos, Hitler, Dictator, Puppet!” </s> next Image 1 of 3

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Lawyers for the Philippine government and heirs of Ferdinand Marcos say the late dictator is qualified to be buried at a heroes' cemetery as a former president and war veteran despite opposition from his regime's victims.

Solicitor General Jose Calida defended President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to allow Marcos' burial at the military-run Heroes' Cemetery at the resumption Wednesday of Supreme Court hearings on the victims' petitions against the burial.

Calida said that the cemetery is not a national pantheon, and that its name is a misnomer because there is no standard or body defining what a hero is, and burying Marcos there will not confer him the title of a hero.

Marcos was ousted in a 1986 "people power" revolt and died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. </s> TWO JUSTICES of the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenged the petitioners seeking to stop the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, pointing out there are no clear rules on who should be buried in the military-owned cemetery.

Even wives of former secretaries of Defense are buried at the Libingan, contrary to the position of the anti-Marcos petitioners that only “heroes” should be buried there, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro said during oral arguments on six consolidated petitions against the internment.

“[S]pouses of Secretaries of National Defense are allowed to be buried there. Are they heroes? Can we say there are guidelines? There’s not even a body which will determine who are heroes, who should avail [themselves]of this privilege to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Is the Court the one to determine, in the absence of any guidelines [on]who are the bayani (heroes)?” de Castro said.

She was questioning defeated senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares, one of the human rights victims during the Marcos regime questioning the Duterte administration’s approval of the burial of the late strongman at the Libingan in Taguig.

“You have to explain what is meant by ‘bayani’ … based on existing rules, laws and regulations pertaining to this cemetery in Fort McKinley, now Fort Bonifacio, because there seems to be no established guidelines as to who are heroes, as to who are disqualified [to be buried in that cemetery],” de Castro said.

She also challenged the petitioners to prove their argument that the Libingan is the same as the “National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes and Patriots of the Country” ordered built by Republic Act (RA) 289.

“[O]r is it just a war memorial for which it was originally created?” she asked.

Will of the people

 Associate Justice Jose Perez likewise pointed out that RA 289 does not provide guidelines on who are “worthy of public emulation and inspiration.”

Petitioners, he noted, seem to want the high tribunal to bear the responsibility of proclaiming Marcos as not deserving of national esteem and therefore not worthy of burial at the Libingan, rather than leave it to the people.

Perez said President Rodrigo Duterte’s 16 million votes during the polls implies ratification or public approval, which empowers him to decide on the burial of Marcos.

During the campaign, Duterte, whose father served as a Cabinet official under Marcos, repeatedly said he would bury the late strongman at the military cemetery.

“Is that not a decision of the sovereign people themselves? And what the electorate voted in favor of, we will now nullify? Can you not say that it was the electorate, the sovereign people, who favor the burial [at the Libingan]?” Perez asked.

‘Not worthy’

 The petitioners, mostly Martial Law victims, focused on the argument that Marcos should not be given honors because he is considered a dictator.

“A dictator responsible for countless human rights violations does not deserve a place in the pantheon. The dishonored cannot join the honored; Marcos is not worthy of emulation and inspiration,” Colmenares said.

The former party-list congressman said Marcos should never be buried on publicly owned land.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, whose brother Hermon disappeared during Martial Law and was never found, said “far from being a hero, former President Ferdinand Marcos was a despot, an oppressor of the Filipino people, during the dark era of Martial Law.”

“A Marcos hero’s burial would glorify a dictator, distort history, aggravate the injustice to human rights violation victims and their families and mock the heroism of desaparecidos (disappeared) and other victims of Marcos’ atrocities,” Lagman added.

Bound by statutes

 Barry Guttierez, who represented Martial Law victims like former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, said Duterte was constitutionally bound by statutes that recognize the Marcos regime’s atrocities, such as Republic Act 10368 that gave reparations to human rights victims.

Rosales and other victims, including Nilda Lagman-Sevilla, Ma. Cristina Rodriguez, Fe Mangahas, Hilda Narciso and Ma. Cristina Bawagan, took turns telling their stories.

CHR Chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon said domestic and international laws impose upon the government the obligation of “non-repetition,” and Marcos’ burial at the Libingan would expose victims to “re-traumatization.”

Penciled by Imelda

 Close to the end of the oral arguments, former Interior secretary Rafael Alunan was summoned to read the agreement he had reached, on behalf of the Ramos administration, with the Marcoses on the return of the former President’s remains from Hawaii in 1993.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo had said the agreement, in which Marcos was to be buried in his home province of Ilocos Norte, was no longer binding.

Alunan said the fourth paragraph of the memorandum of agreement was controversial because former first lady Imelda Marcos penciled the words “temporarily interred” on the document to replace “buried on the 9th of Sept.”

 Alunan said Mrs. Marcos countersigned it but he did not.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno ordered the Solicitor General to request an original of the agreement from former President Fidel Ramos.

Sereno adjourned the oral arguments and called for another session at 10 a.m. on September 7. </s> “Burying the dictator in the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not heal our wounded country.”

MANILA – Even as President Duterte said the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) is meant “to heal” the nation, his decision only opened an old wound, one that has to do with bringing the tyrant and his family to face punishment for their crimes against the people.

Outside the Supreme Court gate today, Aug. 31, that gaping wound divided demonstrators into two groups: those who oppose the LNMB burial, and those who support it. The demonstrations were held as the high court heard the oral arguments for the six petitions filed opposing the Marcos burial.

But the groups may as well be divided according to what they hold to be truths: victims and activists who say that Marcos was one of the most corrupt despot in the world who plundered the nation’s coffers and committed crimes against humanity, and the Marcoses and supporters who dismiss all these as lies.

 

 Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and the Campaign against the Return of the Marcoses in Malacañang (Carmma) led martial law activists and other progressive groups to show support for the petitions against the Marcos burial in LNMB, which, they said, completes his family’s return to Malacañang – the consequence of the failure of post-martial law administrations to bring the Marcoses to justice.

“Along with the dictator’s remains, the Marcos family also wants to bury the memory of the crimes of martial law. They want to bury the lessons of history, specially the atrocities committed by the dictator. In burying the truth about Marcos. They hope that their family will rise again to occupy the highest post of the land,” said Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary general.

Danny Dela Fuente, spokesperson of the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), and one of the petitioners, said the Marcoses and their supporters have “refused to move on” because they long to return to power. The late dictator’s son and namesake, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. lost the vice presidency by a small margin to Leni Robredo in the recent elections.

“The Marcos family and their cronies could not move on from the fact that the Filipino people toppled the Marcos dictatorship due to its puppetry to the US, massive plunder of public funds, oppression of already impoverished Filipinos, and human rights abuses. The Marcos family could not move on from the fact that even the US Hawaii court found Marcos guilty of human rights abuses on 9,539 counts,” he said.

Dela Fuente said the Marcoses even refuse to accept Republic Act 10368, the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, which gives financial compensation to martial law victims, using the $10 billion recovered Marcos ill-gotten wealth.

Several national leaders of progressive groups, such as Elmer “Bong” Labog, chairperson of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), attested to how they became victims of the Marcos dictatorship as youth activists.

 

 Labog was a 17-year-old freshman at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and a member of the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK) when he and scores of other student activists were “invited” by Marcos to Malacañang on Sept. 23, 1972.

“PC (Philippine Constabulary) men came to the campus in truckloads, and brought us instead to Camp Vicente Lim,” he told Bulatlat, where they were tortured and detained for a year. Another massive arrest came in 1982, when hundreds of trade union leaders were arrested, including KMU leaders Crispin Beltran and Bert Olalia.

Before the oral arguments started, one of the petitioners, Trinidad Herrera-Repuno spoke at the program outside the SC gate and recalled how soldiers tortured her by electrocution, with wires tied to her thumb, and later to her nipples.

Dr. Beng Rivera-Reyes, secretary general of the Health Alliance for Democracy recalled how her Uncle Claudio was killed by soldiers as he went out at dawn to bring the carabao to pasture in their village in Capaz, Tarlac in 1979.

“It was a very quiet funeral, no one was speaking,” Reyes recalled, then only five years old. It was common to hear about other villagers getting killed, arrested or disappeared. After Marcos was ousted, she realized how such were meant to spread fear and repress the people.

But arrests, torture, killings and disappearances continue after martial law, said Evan Hernandez of Hustisya, whose daughter Beng was killed by paramilitary men and soldiers in 2002.

 “Marcos started it all,” she said. “And now he will be buried a hero?”

“You communists, listen up. If Marcos did not declare martial law, we would all be communists now. You were arrested because you were communists!” said a woman’s voice on a loud speaker on the side of the “loyalists.”

Among the Marcos loyalist groups were the foundation, Friends of Imelda R. Marcos, or FIRM-24 K. Its members came in uniform red shirts, from as far as Angono, Rizal province and Laguna. Several women in their sixties told Bulatlat that they are “Imelda supporters,” who have been meeting regularly in Luneta, Manila for the past 11 years. Other groups carried the initials “BBM,” such as the Buong Bansa Magkaisa.

 

 The Marcos loyalists danced and flashed the “V” sign, as they played blaring music accompanied by live drums. The activists played the song “Makibaka, huwag matakot” on their own sound system.

“Marcos, Hitler, diktador, tuta!” chanted the activists.

 “Marcos, Marcos pa rin,” chanted back the “loyalists.” One even shouted “Mabuhay ang (Long live) martial law!”

The scene was almost reminiscent of the time after the Marcos ouster, as their supporters tried to rally themselves to pave the way to bring the dictator and his family back to the country.

 “Burying the dictator in the LNMB will not heal our wounded country,” said a joint statement by the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, Institute of Social Order, and John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues. The groups said it “buries peace by erasing the memory o the violence that his regime inflicted on our nation.” </s> In a 10-5 vote, the Supreme Court denies the motions for reconsideration filed by groups opposing the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani

MANILA, Philippines – Voting 10-5, the Supreme Court (SC) en banc upheld on Tuesday, August 8, its earlier decision granting a hero's burial for the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

"The Court, voting 10-5, denied the motions for reconsideration filed by petitioners of the Court's decision dated November 8, 2016," SC Spokesman Theodore Te said in a news briefing on Tuesday. (READ: Marcos buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani)

The controversial decision last year was appealed by 7 groups, some of which were led by opposition lawmakers Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman and detained Senator Leila de Lima.

Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on November 18, 2016 or 10 days after the SC decision, despite the appeals filed by anti-Marcos groups. (READ: TIMELINE: The Marcos burial controversy)

The 5 justices who dissented the first time remain the dissenters in the new decision: Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza, and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa. (READ: Marcos burial: What did the dissenting SC justices say?)

Newly-appointed Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr voted in favor of the Marcos burial, joining Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta (ponente), Presbitero Velasco Jr, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Teresita de Castro, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Noel Tijam, and Samuel Martires.

A copy of the decision explaining the specific grounds for the dismissal of the appeals was not yet available on Tuesday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Malacañang acknowledges the SC decision as "the final arbiter of all legal questions."

Abella added, "We hope the matter ... will finally be laid to rest, and that the country will move forward as one united nation working for a comfortable life for all, law and order, and lasting peace."

President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the hero's burial for Marcos as a fulfillment of the campaign promise he made to the Marcos family and to Ilocanos. (READ: Duterte on Marcos burial: Let history judge, I followed law) – Rappler.com </s> Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) — Voting 10-5, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled with finality junking petitions against the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

Those who approved the ruling were Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Samuel Martires, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Noel Tijam, and Bienvenido Reyes.

The five who dissented were Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza, and Alfredo Caguioa.

The Supreme Court first dismissed the petitions on November 8, 2016, after over two months of hearing oral arguments, finally allowing Marcos' burial at the Libingan by a vote of 9-5, with the same five justices opposing the ruling.

Marcos' remains were buried at the LNMB on November 18 — 27 years after his death — after being transported from the Marcos Museum and Mausoleum in Batac, his hometown in Ilocos Norte.

President Rodrigo Duterte on August 7, 2016 ordered Marcos' burial at the Heroes' Cemetery, prompting the Philippine Army to start its preparations amid pending petitions of martial law victims at the Supreme Court.

On August 23, the High Court issued a stay order to stop the preparations.

One of the junked petitions was filed by the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), as they disagreed with the procedural questions and the substantive issues.

NUPL president Atty. Edre Olalia said the Supreme Court ruling is "unfortunate and utterly disappointing."

"What do we tell our children and generations to come who to emulate? It does not inspire & even virtually canonizes a fascist dictator thief. But the evil that men do is remembered after their deaths. They must be exorcised in time," Olalia said.

Olalia is also the legal counsel of some of the petitioners.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said they "acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all legal questions."

"We hope the matter on the Ferdinand Marcos - Libingan ng Mga Bayani will finally be laid to rest, and that the country will move forward as one united nation working for a comfortable life for all, law and order, and lasting peace," Abella added.

CNN Philippines' Anjo Alimario and Ver Marcelo contributed to this report. </s> THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday extended to October 18 the status quo order halting the planned burial of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, giving the magistrates more time to study the case.

This means there will be no interment at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Taguig this month as planned by the late strongman’s family with the permission of President Rodrigo Duterte, who promised to allow the burial during the election campaign to put an end to a lingering issue.

The court en banc first issued a 20-day status quo ante order on August 23, at the request of petitioners seeking to block the burial, mostly victims of Martial Law.

On Wednesday, the parties were ordered to submit their respective memoranda to the court within 20 days, following a second round of oral arguments.

Government lawyers told the high tribunal Marcos’ achievements as a soldier who fought against the Japanese during World War 2 would not be diminished just because he was ousted by the EDSA “People Power” revolt in 1986.

Solicitor General Jose Calida was asked by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro if the removal of Marcos from the presidency could be considered as a basis for stripping him of honors, such as the Medal of Valor, as a war hero.

“It is in the position of the State that once it (Medal of Valor) is awarded, it cannot be diminished. It cannot be nullified,” Calida said during the oral arguments.

“Based on military standards, given to a Medal of Valor awardee, former President Marcos fits to the definition of a hero,” Calida added.

Imelda’s pension

 Marcos was awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest Philippine military accolade, in October 1958 for fighting the Japanese forces in Bataan in January 1942.

Proof of gratitude of the Philippine government, said Calida, is the pension given by the State to Marcos’ widow, former first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos.

Mrs. Marcos has been receiving a P25,000 monthly pension—P20,000 for the former President’s Medal of Valor and P5,000 for his military service—since 1994.

This was not disputed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

NHCP Chairwoman Ma. Serena Diokno said her agency only probed the war medals that Marcos allegedly claimed to have received from the United States Army.

For the Commission on Human Rights headed by Jose Luis Martin Gascon, Marcos should be denied a place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because of rights abuses committed during Martial Law.

“It is our opinion that burying him at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would be contrary to international and national laws with respect to human rights,” said Gascon.

Victims’ pain

 Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno asked government lawyers if allowing the burial would only bring pain to the victims of Martial Law, pointing out that there was no confession or acknowledgement of the abuses during the Marcos regime.

“Aren’t we disacknowledging the pain of the victims by the burial?” Sereno asked.

Calida said mere burial won’t erase the history, and that “hope springs eternal” as regards the healing of human rights victims.

The Marcos family’s lawyer, Hyacinth Rafael-Antonio, said the emotions of the victims have no relevance to the case, as the burial is allowed by military regulations. </s> Through the initiative of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance headed by its national chair Atty. Loida Nicolas Lewis, the global protest against burial of Philippines dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at Libingan Ng Mga Bayani (heroes cemetery) will be held today, Sept. 7, 2016, from 5pm to 6pm at the San Jose Intersection, Beach Road.

This according to Dr. Celia Lamkin, chairperson of USPGG CNMI, Guam, Hawaii ,and American Samoa.

There will be similar protests in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other U.S. cities, Tokyo, Italy, France , Canada, and other countries on Sept. 7 from 12 noon to 1pm.

“Please wear white T-shirts. If you know of friends, relatives, classmates, or colleagues who were victims of Martial Law, please bring their photos. We will display those pictures during the global protest rally,” said Lamkin. (PR) </s> MALACANANG has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to junk “with finality” a motion for reconsideration on the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

READ: SC puts last nail on coffin against transfer of Marcos remains out of ‘Libingan’

“We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all legal questions,” Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“We hope the matter on the FM Libingan ng Mga Bayani will finally be laid to rest, and that the country will move forward as one united nation working for a comfortable life for all, law and order, and lasting peace,” he added.

The high court struck down the motion and a petition filed by the group of Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay to exhume Marcos’ remains.

The Supreme Court, voting 9-5 with one inhibition, had junked the petitions seeking to block the burial last year, ruling that the petitions had no merit.

Despite protests, the late strongman was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on November 18, 2016. The public did not know of the plan and was only informed about it a couple of hours before the actual event.

President Rodrigo Duterte had stood firm on his decision to allow Marcos’ burial despite calls by some sectors for him to change his mind.

Duterte has said he was simply following the law about allowing soldiers and ex-presidents to be buried at the heroes’ cemetery.
The Duterte administration defends its decision to bury the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippine heroes' cemetery.