After many years, the proposed interment of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani remains a divisive issue. It comes as no surprise that the Supreme Court’s 9-5-1 decision, released Tuesday, dismissing petitions that claim President Rodrigo Duterte gravely abused his discretion in ordering the burial, was met with noise and indignation.
Over social media, the anger is palpable. Some users changed their cover or profile photos to black, showing their grief. Victims, or relatives of victims, of rights violations during the martial law period are up in arms over the court’s decision. They say it is a travesty. Marcos is certainly no hero, they say—he was, instead, a plunderer and a murderer. Protests are being staged left and right, with participants denouncing the Supreme Court for allowing the interment of the strongman among heroes.
Tuesday was a dark day in history, they say.
Amid the heightened emotion, calling for sobriety may be seen as foolhardy—but we venture to do it anyway.
Foremost, there were no surprises here at all. Mr. Duterte explicitly said while he was just campaigning that he would bring closure to the burial issue if he won. He won by a significant plurality despite—because of—this. It makes sense that he should follow through on his campaign promise.
Second, the groups opposing the burial very clearly recognized the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over the issue the moment they filed their petitions before it. They clearly laid out their arguments, not to the question of what makes one a hero, or whether Marcos should be deemed a hero, but on whether he fits the criteria for being buried at the place that just happened to be called the resting place of heroes.
The petitioners and the others cannot now reject the decision of the court just because it runs counter to what they want. They would have been jubilant had the ruling gone their way.
Finally, corpses are meant to be buried. They have no business being mummified or being displayed in a museum. The dead’s protracted presence among the living is nothing short of jarring—they serve as grotesque reminders of our inability to put our issues to rest. So bury them—in a family mausoleum, underneath a parking lot, a mass grave or a nondescript sewer—anywhere, so long as they are gone from sight.
We can choose to prolong the debate until we exhaust all energy and goodwill we have left for all other issues this benighted country faces. Or we can bury Marcos now, without necessarily conceding he is a hero if we don’t want to—just that he, to the letter, fits the description of who may be buried on those grounds.
Anger does nothing but sap our energy and good sense to learn from our mistakes. The court has spoken, and there is no more impediment for Duterte to go ahead with his decision. The outcome appears inevitable.