A GROUP has asked the Supreme Court to stop the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio, saying that would violate the Constitution and existing laws.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers filed the petition in behalf of the victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law years led by former Rep. Satur Ocampo.
The group filed the petition even as Senator Manny Pacquiao said Monday the Filipino people should not forget that Marcos was voted president of the Philippines and that warranted his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“We also should not forget his contributions to the country despite declaring Martial Law that was blamed for human rights violations,” Pacquiao said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would not violate any laws.
The petitioners say if Marcos’ burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery is allowed, it will likely jeopardize their $2-billion claim for damages against the Marcoses for their human rights violations.
“The said judgment is pending execution and the burial of Marcos in LMB could affect the already difficult search for Marcos’ hidden wealth and the full execution of the judgment,” the petitioners said.
Named respondents in the petition were Rear Admiral Ernesto Enriquez, Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; General Ricardo Visaya, AFP Chief of Staff; Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; and the heirs of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.
The petitioners say the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in ordering and allowing Marcos’ burial at the Libingan through a memorandum issued on Aug. 7, 2016 by Lorenzana.
“Respondents’ reliance on existing laws and guidelines that absolutely allows the burial of Marcos in LNMB is without legal basis,” the petitioners said.
They insist on the validity of the 1993 agreement between then President Fidel Ramos and the Marcos family that the late strongman will be buried in Ilocos Norte.
“The fact that former President Ramos and the succeeding presidents have exercised discretion and refused the burial of Marcos in the LNMB shows that such an assertion that Marcos has a right to be buried in the LNMB is without statutory support. In fact, the reverse is true and Marcos is not qualified under any law or guideline,” the petition says.
The petitioners say existing laws prohibit Marcos’ burial at the LNMB, such as AFP Regulations G 161-373, which says “those who have been dishonorably discharged from service, or personally convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, do not qualify for interment.
The petitioners also say Marcos’ burial at the Libingan would violate Republic Act 289 or “An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes and Patriots of the Country.”
“The burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani simply mocks and taunts Section 1 of RA 289,” the petition says.
The petitioners claim the country’s experience under the Marcos dictatorship “should not be emulated and cannot serve as an inspiration to this generation and to the next generation of Filipinos.”
They recalled that then President Marcos ordered the arrest of more than 50,000 people during the first three years of Martial Law.
Thousands more were tortured, summarily executed and disappeared also during Martial Law.