TFDP Statement on the Supreme Court Decision on the Burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani

Our Hope Lies With Our People:

Truth Will Prevail! Justice Will Flow!

Justice was bludgeoned today. Nine magistrates of the Supreme Court chose to take a myopic and narrow view of justice and allowed the burial of the late dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). The tyrant and despot rejoices in his glass enclosed tomb. His family and minions are ecstatic with the “magnanimity of the rule of law”.
But sometimes, the law does not equate with justice. To recall, the law was used to enslave a nation and its people for 14 long years. The law was used to plunder the coffers of our nation. The law was used to justify the gross human rights violations committed against our people. More than 100,000 direct victims have been scarred by martial law.

But even then, Ka Pepe Diokno, Ka Tani Tañada, Jovito Salonga, Rene Saguisag, and many others saw the majesty and grandeur of law, as well as its pitfalls and limitations. They went within, around, and beyond the law to advocate for justice.
It is time to do so once more.

Truth was mangled today. The truth that Marcos was a human rights violator. The truth that Marcos was a plunderer. The truth that Marcos is no hero. The truth that darkness fell when martial law was declared, and for 14 years, our people were violated, its resources pillaged by a few, and impunity was at its peak. The truth that democracy was dead from 1972 to 1986 and a fascist dictatorship held reign.

The Supreme Court chose to wash its hands of the raging controversy. It simply said there are no legal impediments to burying Marcos at the LNMB just as its predecessors did in declaring martial law legal.

Indeed, the decision ultimately now rests with the butcher now sitting in power. With him, there is no hope.

Our redemption, our hope lies with the people. It is their hearts and minds that we must win over. Our collective memory of those harrowing times must not be lost. It must be shared, again and again and again. Memory shall be our sword and our shield against the revision of history and the return of tyranny.

Upon the graves of our martyrs and heroes, by the sacrifices of those who were killed, tortured, and disappeared, we swear again – Truth will prevail. Justice will flow.

Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, November 8, 2016

Women and Workers Outraged by SC Decision on Marcos Burial

Marcos not a hero

Women and worker activists held a noise barrage in Quezon City this evening to express their outrage over the Supreme Court’s decision to bury the deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The groups World March of Women (WMW), Sentro ng Progresibo at Nagkakaisang Manggagawa (SENTRO) and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) have been rallying to oppose President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to bury Marcos in the hero’s cemetery.

“We shall never forget this day. The decision of the SC is a grave insult to the memory of those who died under Marcos rule,” according to Jelen Paclarin, Executive Director of the Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB). “The burial of Marcos in LNB is the death of justice – as the remains of the Dictator shall be laid in the ground, so shall what remained of hope and our faith in the justice system.” The group asserted that Marcos is not a hero, but a dictator who brought upon atrocities and suffering to the country and the Filipino people can never be called a hero.

Josua Mata, Secretary General of SENTRO, expressed that the SC decision tramples on the sacrifices of all trade unionists whose lives were taken in fighting the Marcos dictatorship. “This is another nail on the cross of democracy in the country,” added Mata.

“We fought the Marcos dictatorship fiercely and sacrificed our youth so that our children will live free from fascism,” stated Jean Enriquez, Philippine Coordinator of the WMW. “But President Duterte would rather fulfill his campaign promises to the Marcos family, which left the democratic forces with no recourse but to file petitions at the Supreme Court,” she added. They vowed to continue resisting the grave abuse of discretion by the president in ordering the Marcos burial at the heroes’ cemetery, despite the SC failing them.

“This SC decision does not represent the position of the thousands of Filipino people who have lived, experienced and understood the horrors during the Marcos dictatorship, said Judy Pasimio, Executive Director of Lilak (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights). “Our resistance to the burying of truth and that tragic part of our history will continue,” she added. The group noted that indigenous and Moro people have been severely abused during the Marcos regime.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Focus on the Global South, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, Foundation for Media Alternatives, Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality, iDefend, and the Coalition Against Marcos Burial petitioners were part of the action.