No Hero’s Burial for Enemy of Heroes

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"Hindi matatawag na bayani ang taong pumaslang sa marami nating mga bayani."

This was the remark made by Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros as she joined today a multisectoral rally protesting the government's plan to bury the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

Braving the rain and mud, Hontiveros joined a broad coalition of Martial Law victims, youth groups and people’s organizations as they converged at the Lapu-lapu Shrine located at the Rizal Park. They jointly appealed to the Duterte administration to listen to the "call of the people and history."

"We cannot consider a hero the very man who caused the incarceration, torture and deaths of those who fought for justice, freedom and democracy. Maraming napatay noong Martial Law, gaya ng mga student leaders, community organizers at journalists na siyang ating mga tunay na bayani," Hontiveros said.

"Marcos went down in history as an unrepentant enemy of our heroes. To honor the man a hero and bury his remains in a place reserved for the brave and martyred is an inimitable political abomination. President Duterte must not commit this atrocious mistake," Hontiveros added.

Hontriveros, who is the author of the lone Senate Resolution opposing the planned hero's burial for Marcos, welcomed Duterte's recent admission that the late strongman was not a hero. This is even as the Chief Executive remained firm in his decision to bury Marcos at the heroes' cemetery claiming that he was a soldier and former president.

"I see this as a small victory in our constructive engagement with the President on this issue. I hope in the coming days President Duterte will continue to listen to undeniable facts disproving Marcos' soldier credentials and highlighting his moral turpitude offenses. These facts ultimately disqualify him from being buried at the LNMB," Hontiveros said.

Last week, Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution No. 86, expressing the sense of the Senate that Marcos is "unfit to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani."The resolution underscored Marcos’ numerous crimes, including being liable to 10,059 plaintiffs for acts of torture, summary execution, and disappearance.

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