THE government through the Office of the Solicitor General on Monday defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to allow the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery, invoking Duterte’s executive power.
The Marcos family appealed to the Supreme Court to dismiss the petitions against Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani filed by various groups, including the victims of human rights abuses and the families of the victims of enforced disappearances during Martial Law.
Former senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Francisco Tatad on Monday also defended the government’s plan to allow Marcos’ burial at the Libingan.
Enrile said all who served as President had the right to be buried at the Libingan.
“Why should anyone of them be excluded from being buried in that piece of land called Libingan Ng Mga Bayani?” Enrile said.
Tatad, Marcos’ information minister, said it was clear that Marcos was qualified to be buried at the Libingan. He also defended Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law in 1972.
Meanwhile, two more petitions were filed before the Supreme Court on Monday opposing Marcos’ burial at the Libingan, bringing the number of petitions pending at the high court to five.
In an 86-page comment, Solicitor General Jose Calida, acting as counsel for the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said Duterte’s decision to allow a hero’s burial for Marcos was a valid exercise of his prerogative power under the Constitution and the Administrative Code.
“President Duterte, in his wisdom, deems it appropriate to inter the remains of former President Marcos in a parcel of land of the public domain devoted for the purpose of being a military shrine, and recognize his being a former President, a Medal of Valor awardee, a member of the retired military personnel, and a war veteran,” Calida said.
“President Duterte understands that if this country really intends to extricate itself from the quagmire it is presently embroiled in, history must be viewed differently… President Duterte’s order to allow former President Marcos’ interment at the [Libingan ng mga Bayani] is based on his determination that it shall promote national healing and forgiveness, and redound to the benefit of the Filipino people.” With PNA