PAO chief: Hero's burial for Marcos at Libingan ng Mga Bayani has 'legal basis'

Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief Atty. Persida Acosta on Wednesday said there is a legal basis to allow the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) in Taguig.

Acosta said the legal basis for Marcos' burial at LNMB can be found in Republic Act (RA) No. 289.

"Noong kasi naguguluhan ako. Legally puwede siyang ilibing. Kung titingnan ang language of the law, pati past presidents puwede ilibing diyan," she said in a news conference in Quezon City.

"Yung sinasabi ni President [Rodrigo] Duterte na 'I'm just following the law,' totoo pala," Acosta added.

Acosta said RA 289 states that Section 1 of the law allows past Philippine presidents, together with national heroes and patriots, to be buried at LNMB.

Approved on June 16, 1948, RA 289 is “an act providing for the construction of a national pantheon for presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots of the country.”

Section 1 of the law states: “To perpetuate the memory of all the Presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn, there shall be constructed a National Pantheon which shall be the burial place of their mortal remains. “

“Ito po yung creation of a national pantheon for presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots of the country. May comma po bago national heroes and patriots,” Acosta said.

“May Republic Act no. 289 na ang mga naging pangulo ng bansa, diyan po ililibing sa libingan na yan, hindi lang yung mga hero. Yun po yung nasa batas kung paano ginawa yan at pinondohan noong araw,” she added.

However, the Martial Law victims who filed a petition against Marcos' burial at LNMB also cited RA 289 as the basis for their plea.

Led by former Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Neri Colmenares, the Martial Law victims said RA 289 only allows the burial of a president or soldier worthy of public inspiration and emulation.

They also said the planned burial of Marcos at LNMB contradicts:

• public policy under the law (Republic Act 10638) that recognizes the massive human rights violations under the Marcos regime, and
• the 1993 deal between the Philippine government and the Marcos family that the former president's remains should be buried in Ilocos Norte. 

Proposal to rename LNMB

Meanwhile, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque responded to Acosta that he will file a resolution at the House of Representatives to rename LNMB to “Libingan ng mga Bayani at Dating Presidente.”

Roque said he understands the stance of groups opposing the hero’s burial for Marcos.

“Of course, the petitioners against him are saying that he is not a hero because number 1, he has court cases recognizing that he is guilty of corruption; number 2, Congress even created the law to pay compensation to victims of human rights violations,” Roque said.

“On the other hand, the state is saying this is not recognizing him as a hero this is just burying him as a soldier and as a former president,” he added.

Marcos was ousted by a popular uprising — the 1986 People Power Revolution — after he was accused of committing widespread human rights violations and amassing ill-gotten wealth. 

He died while on exile in Hawaii in 1989. His remains were brought to the Philippines in 1993 and were kept in the Marcos Mausoleum in Ilocos Norte. — VVP, GMA News