MANILA, Philippines – For Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, a hero’s burial for the late President Ferdinand Marcos will degrade the pain of Martial Law victims.
In an excerpt of her dissenting opinion to the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing Marcos' be interment at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, Sereno said the hero’s burial would also disregard documented truths regarding the Marcos regime.
“For the court to pretend that the present dispute is a simple question of the entitlement of a soldier to a military burial is to take a regrettably myopic view of the controversy. It would be to disregard historical truths and legal principles that persist after death,” she said.
“As important, it would degrade the State's duty to recognize the pain of countless victims of Marcos and Martial Law,” the chief justice added.
Sereno also said she cannot agree with the hero’s burial despite it being packaged as a way to unite the nation and bring healing.
“Regardless of the promised national unity that the proposed burial will bring, I cannot, in good conscience, support such an expedient and shortsighted view of Philippine history,” she said.
During the campaign season, President Rodrigo Duterte said he is in favor of a hero’s burial for Marcos, saying the Ilocanos -- those who live in or from the Ilocos Region. He also said Marcos has the right to be buried at the national heroes’ cemetery since he is a soldier and a former president.
Sereno questioned Solicitor General Jose Calida during the oral arguments on petitions opposing the hero's burial when he justified the move as a campaign promise the government must fulfill to attain unity. She said a campaign promise is made for a political purpose and not defined as a public purpose therefore one cannot use public money to fulfill a campaign promise.
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