SC delays hint of decision on Marcos burial
The Supreme Court has once again put off deciding whether or not to allow the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The scuttlebutt is that the high court is divided so closely on the issue that it is uncomfortable with any decision now, regardless of where the decision goes. On the other hand, by putting off its decision yet one more time to November 8, after failing to decide on it thrice already, it could be violating one of its very own closely-held principles.
The Supreme Court has always admonished every sitting judge in the lower courts to speed up the resolution of cases because, according to it, justice delayed is justice denied. But how can it continue pursuing the same admonition and tell judges to expeditiously resolve cases when the Supreme Court itself has been unable to do the same in this particular case.
The case involves an issue that is familiar to almost every Filipino. In fact, so familiar is the issue that even if no petition had been filed anywhere in the entire judicial system, each and every magistrate, from the smallest Municipal Trial Court to the most honorable of all honorable justices of the Supreme Court, would probably have played it all in his head and would already know how he would rule on it if it were all up to him.
In all probability, it is not the merits of the case that is causing the delay but the prospect of its political impact on the nation. In other words, from being a purely judicial matter, the issue has become almost entirely a political one. The justices, presumed to have already made up their minds, are forced to drag their feet because of the political considerations involved.
If that is the case, then that in itself is already an indication of which way the ruling would go. This thought is bolstered even more by the choice of date to which the announcement of the decision would be made. The new date, November 8, is a week clear of the traditional visiting time of Filipinos to their departed loved ones.
Perhaps the Supreme Court is concerned about the impact its decision would make if made ahead of the All Saints Day and All Souls Day holidays. Better to give it after the holidays, when everything has settled down and people have gone back to their individual daily grinds. It is tough indeed to have so many people, millions of them, in cemeteries when a decision on a controversial burial is made.
This thought could be entirely wrong, of course. But if the thought is wrong, there would have been no need to dillydally with the decision. The concerned parties would not be in a position to do anything about it. But if the thought is correct, if the Supreme Court went where the repeated postponements indicate it would go, then the potential for even more controversy is greater. And that is what presumably has gotten the high court in a pickle.
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