“I'M NOT sure if there was dignity left in his leadership, why should we glorify his death?”
I vividly recall this reaction from a kabalen while I was getting the pulse of the people during my stint as a TV reporter. I asked random people from the province if they are fine with the burial of the dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Relatives and sympathizers of the victims of martial rule and of Marcos’ dictatorship are persistent in their dissent against the transfer of former President Ferdinand Marcos to the national cemetery in Taguig City.
During Duterte’s presidential campaign, he has been consistent in expressing courageous and unconventional (if not widely unpopular) propositions such as the bloody war on drugs, the release of former president GMA, and the burial of Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery. And today, it is really happening. Drug pushers being killed if not apprehended, former president is now out from hospital arrest, and the Marcos family prepares the bronze casket for the late Ferdinand. At one point, Digong would like to put an end on decades of division and debates among his countrymen, and move on. I would like to move on too, who doesn’t? But for those thousands of Filipinos who suffered under his regime, it is but laborious to do so.
Senator Kiko Pangilinan has expressed his rejection to the idea. He wrote: “Burying a murderer and a thief in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is not moving on...it is teaching our children to honor murderers and plunderers....It is not going to heal the nation nor will it unite us...it will only deeply divide us, reopen deep wounds of those who suffered, causing them to relive the gnawing pain and memory of loved ones jailed, tortured, murdered, salvaged or who disappeared because of the arrogance, tyranny and oppression of the dictatorship.î Strong words from a former student leader as he questioned: "How can one forgive when there is neither remorse nor atonement on the part of the Marcos family?”
I wonder how the souls of the dead whose remains are now laid at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will react if the infamous dictator will join them there? I picture in my mind the late National Artist for Music, Levi Celerio, and I imagine him use the leaves not to play music but rather to cover his tombstone away from Macoy. More than 48,000 people have been buried there who are labelled heroes for having served the country with honor and beyond the call of duty. Yes, Marcos was a former president and a former commander-in-chief. The dictator also claimed that he was a medalist as a soldier although Maria Serena Diokno, the chairperson of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, said that there appeared no author of wartime history in Macoy's unit, and that the only author appears to be Marcos because his documents refers to himself where he mentioned he got his medals. Diokno even checked the official website of the U.S. government and she revealed that Ferdinand Sr.'s name did not appear as recipient of three medals.
This move by the widely trusted president is bigger than Imelda's shoe closet. There were legions of patriots and innocent people during Marcos regime that offered and sacrificed their lives in order to enjoy the freedom that we take joy in. When the time comes that Marcos' waxed body will finally be laid at the said burial ground, I will not call it Libingan ng mga Bayani or Heroes' cemetery anymore. I might consider the suggestion of former Senate President Nene Pimentel to call it as Libingan ng mga Bayani at iba pa instead. It makes perfect sense. Either omit the word hero/bayani or add "et cetera" similar to "at iba pa." And like the term used for the deceased, its exclusivity is set to depart.