THE surprise burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was attended by a bunch of lies.
When the Supreme Court issued its decision allowing the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), it was not final. Petitioners who said Marcos did not deserve to be buried at the LNMB or heroes’ cemetery have 15 days upon receipt of the decision to file a motion for reconsideration. They said Marcos amassed wealth illegally and was responsible for thousands of deaths during his martial law regime.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said petitioners have until November 28 or 15 days from the time they received their copy of the decision to make the appeal. Lagman, lawyer for families of human rights victims, said the Marcos family violated judicial process when it proceeded to bury Marcos even as the decision was not yet final. The Marcos family lied when it insisted on the LNMB burial last Friday, Lagman said.
The next step for the petitioners is to have Marcos’s remains exhumed, otherwise their motion for reconsideration would be rendered academic.
The second lie was on whether President Rodrigo Duterte knew of the burial beforehand. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said President Duterte was not informed of the date of the burial and some reports said Duterte knew of the event only from social media. The massive deployment of police and military personnel and the use of helicopters, the parade, etc. indicate preparation.
Another aspect of the burial, not necessarily a lie but something unclear, was on the description of the actual ceremony. Was Marcos given military or state honors? The ceremony called for military honors but there were descriptions of the pageantry last Friday that were similar to state honors.
Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said Marcos was to get military honors. But the Facebook account of Marcos’s daughter, Imee, showed photos and videos of a parade of family, friends and soldiers, the assignment of honor guards, draping of the coffin with the Philippine flag, gun salute and playing of the taps.
Another lie was on the continued display of the wax replica of Marcos in Batac, Ilocos Norte, that had tourists fooled. Some of the tourists said they were surprised to know Marcos was already buried at the LNMB when the museum still allowed them in to view his “remains.”
What should not come out as a lie in the days to come was Duterte’s assurance that a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was merely an idea. He had warned of the suspension of the writ if trouble erupted in his drug war or in the conflict in parts of Mindanao. His spokesmen later clarified it was only an idea and not a firm plan of Duterte.
With protests against the Marcos burial expected to increase, the fear is that the writ of habeas corpus would be suspended and would lead to arrests without warrant of persons involved in the protest campaign. Then, his statement would be another lie.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)