Marcos Burial Would've Been Peaceful This Way

Image from Manila Times

Imagine your late dear dad secretly buried with all the controversies, only to be exhumed or dug up later and transferred elsewhere. If you loved and respected your dad, would you let him go through all that trouble? I would want a peaceful burial first and foremost. In fact, that's all I would want for him. Never mind other considerations.

The Marcos burial has been a circus, to say the least. I wouldn't want that for my father if I really valued him. Look at how it all turned out. I don't know why the Marcoses would prefer this than a peaceful, quiet burial in Batac.

I really believe that if the Marcoses had decided a quiet burial in Batac, the Marcos loyalists wouldn't have protested. They won't dare lift a finger to oppose it. They'd sheepishly submit and assemble in Batac for the burial rites. And everyone will be happy. Genuine healing will happen and the issue can quietly be shelved in the past as case closed.

Then we can all move on. Di ba?

What's wrong with a Batac burial, anyway? The Marcos corpse has been there for what, 30 years? And it's been making money for the town as a tourist attraction. In a TV interview, one Batac resident preferred Marcos to stay there. She didn't really like the idea of a Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) interment. And I think a lot of Batac folks (and probably Ilocanos) would also prefer that.

How about Marcos' last will and testament, wishing to be given the proper burial rites accorded a president and a soldier? That can well be fulfilled even in Batac. My proposal is for Batac to have a Libingan ng mga Bayani ng Batac or Libingan ng mga Bayani ng Ilocos. Seriously, I'd do that if I were Marcos' son. I'd do that if my dad were former president and a lot of people didn't like him buried at LNMB. I'd bury him in San Juan, La Union in a graveyard I'd call Libingan ng mga Bayani ng San Juan. 

My dad was a second lieutenant of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines or USAFIP and he deserved a place at the LNMB. In fact, my mom was offered that privilege but she turned it down because she wanted dad buried nearer our home.

Not being buried at the LNMB even if you're a hero is no big deal. Where is Rizal buried, for instance? President Manuel L. Quezon's remains are kept at the Quezon Memorial Circle. So why not bury Marcos at a Marcos Memorial Circle in Batac? I'm sure the Marcoses can easily afford that. A lot of soldiers and firemen are buried at the Manila North Cemetery.

The Marcoses have a lot of good alternatives if they want to consider the unity and peace in the country---and if they want to be liked by more people.

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I don't buy a Marcos LNMB burial. I was against his martial law and I know what happened during his reign. I joined organized protests against him. I was in EDSA during the so-called People Power Revolution defending Camps Crame and Aguinaldo from tanks and also defended Channel 4 from tank and jet attacks. I almost got killed there. It's a long story to tell.

They say Marcos didn't personally kill the victims so he is not accountable. That's really a shallow way of dismissing the issue. Marcos may not have personally committed the crimes but he was president then. He was commander in chief of the armed forces. There is command responsibility.

But what can I do now? The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to allow a Marcos LNMB burial. The 15 days given protesters to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) is just a formality. The Supreme Court has clearly decided and I don't think it will rescind its decision. That will be less "pogi points" for them. Me mga ego din mga yan.

Moreover, President Duterte has also decided in favor.

Though protesting against wrong is important, it is MORE IMPORTANT to submit to the governing authorities, because this is God's clear command in the bible. And it's so immature of us to be always complaining and protesting even if the highest court in the land and the final arbiter of law has already decided.

They say the burial was done in contempt of a final SC decision after an MR. Then, by all means, find out who did it and punish them. But I don't think that's going to change anything.

File a petition to exhume? You see, it really gets absurd and ridiculous when the ego goes berserk. Marcos did wrong and now they want to get even. That just makes them as bad as Marcos. A complainant is worth listening to if he or she proves more righteous than the offender. But if they're both rotten...

How come Pinoys can obey and submit when in the Middle East but not in their own country? Is it because they're paid high salaries there? Is it all about money? You submit if given a high pay? I hope we Pinoys have not become "mukang pera."

It is very important for a nation to learn to obey its authorities. In fact, in our case as a poor nation, it's more important than democracy. We've been used to being stubborn and getting things our own way. We are idiots when it comes to accepting defeat.