Duterte can’t raffle off his Libingan ng mga Bayani spot — legal experts

President Rodrigo Duterte cannot raffle off his slot at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) under existing laws, legal experts said on Wednesday.

"We are not aware of any provision in existing laws pertinent to the issue that would allow such extraordinary, if not outlandish idea," attorney Edre Olalia, president and a founding member of National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), told GMA News Online.

He underscored that the LNMB was reserved for specific individuals worthy of "inspiration and emulation" of the next generations.

"After the dictator Marcos desecrated its grounds, this criterion has lost its shimmer and remains a nice but empty standard," the human rights lawyer added.

"To raffle off anyone's supposed slot in the LN[M]B further trivializes its original intent and purported symbolism."

Duterte, under his term, allowed the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the reputable gravesite in 2016, sparking outrage from many Filipinos, including from victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime.

At an event in Pasay City on Monday, the President mentioned anew that he is willing to give away the spot reserved for him at the LNMB, a gesture that he also offered in December.

"I will die, I will disappear, I will be forgotten and I don't expect to be remembered, I do not want to be remembered," Duterte said.

"Gusto ninyo 'yung Libingan ng mga Bayani, meron akong slot dyan, ipa-raffle ko. Kung sino 'yung manalo, gusto mo sikat ka, sige doon ka palibing," he added.

Lawyer Tony La Viña, former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, said that the President was probably not being serious.

"He's joking. Of course, it's not legal. He cannot do that. Period," he said in a phone interview. "A government official allowed to be buried at the Libingan [ng mga Bayani] cannot transfer that right to anyone."

He pointed out that not all Presidents are buried at the LNMB. In any case, he said, Duterte may also waive his slot at the cemetery.

Who are qualified?

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Regulation G 161-375, the following deceased persons are qualified to be interred in the Libingan ng mga Bayani:

1. Medal of Valor awardees

2. Presidents or commanders-in-chief AFP

3. Secretaries of National Defense

4. Chiefs of staff, AFP

5. Generals/ flag officers of the AFP

6. Active and retired military personnel of the AFP

7. Former AFP members who laterally entered/joined the Philippine
National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard

8. Veterans of Philippine Revolution of 1896, World War I, World War II
and recognized guerrillas

9. Government dignitaries, statesmen, national artists and other deceased
persons whose interment or re-interment has been approved by the Commander-in-chief, Congress, or the Secretary of National Defense

10. Former Presidents, secretaries of defense, CSAFP, generals/flag
officers, dignitaries, statesmen, national artists, widows of former
presidents, secretaries of national defense, and chief of staff

The AFP has refused to comment on Duterte's recent remark. — BM, GMA News