Mixed views on hero’s burial

Davide, Osmeña against burying ex-dictator at Libingan ng mga Bayani; Gullas okay with it

GOV. Hilario Davide III and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña joined many Filipinos in standing against the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, for his part, does not oppose President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to allow a hero’s burial for Marcos.

Gullas, who was Cebu governor at the end of martial law in 1986, said this will finally put the issue to rest.

He said Marcos is qualified to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because he was a former soldier and president, based on the law.

But for Davide and Osmeña, Marcos does not deserve a hero’s burial and to be in the same place as the country’s real heroes.

“To me, it is a very, very discouraging situation. There are many Filipinos who died for our country and it is very symbolic to be buried with them. It (Marcos’ burial) belittles the honor of all the sacrifices of all our heroes, even if those heroes are not buried there,” Osmeña said.

Rally

Davide, for his part, said: “We all know about his past sins when he ruled the country for nearly 21 years.”

At the Capitol grounds yesterday, more than 100 people attended a rally supporting calls to stop Marcos’ burial at the Libingan nga mga Bayani in Taguig City.

Members of cause-oriented groups, students and martial law survivors joined the activity.

Emalyn Alviano, spokesperson of the Kaisa ang Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, said that aside from the rally, they will also hold school-based tours to educate students on what really happened during the Marcos regime and to inform the public of the campaign against the late dictator’s burial.

Osmeña, in a news conference last week, noted that there are many Cebuanos who can be considered heroes for sacrificing their lives for Cebu.

Among them was the late Cebu governor Hilario Abellana, who was executed for refusing to collaborate with the Japanese armies.

“...I just feel so sick on how you can put Marcos in the same ground with the same people who sacrificed their lives for our country. How can we feel proud?” the mayor said.

Republic Act 289

Republic Act 289, or the law that created the National Pantheon passed in 1948, states that burials there should “perpetuate the memory of all the Presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and generations still unborn.”

Marcos may qualify to be buried there on the grounds of being a former soldier and former president, according to the rules set by the Armed Forces, which runs the cemetery.

However, those opposing his burial there have pointed out that Marcos’s ouster in the 1986 People Power uprising, or after 14 years of martial law, is sufficient ground to prevent a hero’s burial for the late dictator.

The Marcos family scheduled the burial on Sept. 18.

However, the Supreme Court recently issued a 20-day status-quo order, stopping the preparations for a hero’s burial for Marcos, until arguments are heard in a hearing tomorrow.