Youth leaders oppose Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani

Youth leaders on Wednesday came together to make a stand against the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Gathered in front of the University of the Philippines' Oblation, representatives from various universities and alliances took up the battle that was fought by student activists during the Martial Law period.

“Just as the young people during the 70s and 80s answered the call to fight against the Marcos dictatorship, the generation of today must answer the call to fight against the Marcoses' efforts to twist history in their favor,"  said Bea Reyno of the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines in a statement.

"History witnessed how his regime killed not only the country's best and brightest young people, but also the country's best chance to have a bright future. Rewarding his sins with a hero's burial is unacceptable," she added.

Since his death in 1989, Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was opposed because of abuses committed during the Martial Law regime.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte had said that the former president served as a soldier, and promised to arrange the burial immediately.

Former Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Loretta Rosales, who took part in the event, contradicted Duterte's pronouncement.

"Hindi pwedeng ilibing si Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani...para sa mga bayani yun. Si Marcos mahirap siyang tawaging bayani sapagkat hindi siya sundalo. Peke nga ang kanyang mga medals. Sabi ng American government peke," Rosales said.

"Paano siya magiging bayani kung siya ang responsable sa pagpatay ng libu-libong mga estudyante, mga guro, mga taong simbahan, manggagawa, magsasaka, mga Pinoy," she added.

Petition for TRO

Rosales revealed that anti-Marcos groups are preparing to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the transfer of Marcos' remains to the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

"We're having a petition for a TRO...those organizations who want to come in and join us can join us, but we're already working on this," she said.

Atty. Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno, the founding Dean of De La Salle University College of Law and one of the country's prominent human rights lawyers, is one of the petitioners.

There are other lawyers who are part of the campaign as well, Rosales said.

She invited Filipinos to join them in their cause.

"Schools go ahead with the campaign, media do your work, let's work together," she said. — BAP, GMA News