Groups say Marcos hero's burial used to clean up their name

Progressive groups and activists on Thursday  protested against  the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig five years ago, stressing that the move was used to clean up the Marcoses' name from atrocities that happened in Martial Law.

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said the burial destroyed the truth behind the corruption and human rights abuses during Martial Law.

"It enabled the Marcoses to kind of, in a way, clean up their name and it really destroyed the truth about what happened during Martial Law," Diokno said in a television interview.

Diokno is the son of late Sen. Jose "Ka Pepe" Diokno, who was imprisoned by Marcos during the Martial Law.

It was also illegal to allow the late dictator to be laid to rest at the heroes' cemetery because the Supreme Court had recognized the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

"In our view, it's very clear that there's no legal at all for the burial of Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. It's not just the fact that he was a dictator, but it was also the fact that our very own Supreme Court recognized that the Marcoses really acquired ill-gotten wealth, at least in the amount of $658 million," Diokno said.

In a livestreamed video of Kodao Productions, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares called the hero's burial as preparation to allow the late president's son, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., to run for the presidency in 2022.

"Limang taon na nakalipas, lumuhod ang mga Marcoses kay President [Rodrigo] Duterte para payagang ilibing si Marcos sa mga Libingan ng mga Bayani. Ito ay preparation ng Marcoses para pabanguhin ang kanilang pangalan, preparasyon para sa pagtakbo ni Marcos Jr. sa 2022," said Colmenares.

(It's been five years since Marcoses asked President Duterte to allow Marcos Sr. to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani. This is a preparation to clear their name, a preparation to allow Marcos Jr. to run in 2022.)

Colmenares further slammed presidential aspirant Marcos Jr., saying the latter "claims the achievements of his father as his own."

"At the same time, he (Marcos Jr.) claims ignorance of the killings and corruption during the term of his father," Colmenares, a martial law victim, also said.

Danilo dela Fuente of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law, said Marcos is not a hero but a "plunderer and a dictator."

He also could not forgive the human rights violations that the Marcoses committed in Martial Law years.

"Kinuryente ako hanggang sa himatayin. Ito po ang aming karanasan, hindi ko mapapatawad ang ginawa niyan sa akin na diktador, tuta... Ganu'n din ang kanyang tagapagmana ang iniidolo sa kanya na si Duterte," said dela Fuente during the protest.

(I was electrocuted until I passed out. These are what we experienced and I will never forgive that dictator and lapdog as well as Duterte who idolizes him.)

According to a State of the Nation report, over 400 people marched from University of the Philippines-Diliman to Libingan ng Mga Bayani to express dismay over the burial.

There was also a slight tension between police and protesters during the rally.

In 2016, voting 9-5, the high court allowed the burial of Marcos at the heroes' cemetery. On November 18, 2016, human rights victims during Martial Law said the late dictator was buried like a "thief in the night."—LDF, GMA News