Supreme Court allows Marcos Burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (How did we get here?)
As early as Monday I was done with my article for Wednesday about millennials, but as read the news now that the Supreme Court voted in favor of allowing the burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, I find it imperative to change that article.
I am an Ilocano, who grew up with a father who looked like Marcos. People would always say, “Kamag-anak ba ng papa mo si Marcos? (Is your father related to Marcos?) There was a bit of thrill having a father who looked like the country’s strongman then. I was too young to participate in discussions when Martial Law was declared. But I remember that our parents would hush us when anyone would speak ill of the administration (mostly coming from my oldest sister). I heard of children of neighbors who were missing after joining activist groups.
I was still in school when Ninoy Aquino planned to come back home and I remember my classmate Erin Tanada (now Congressman Tanada) giving us yellow ribbons as a welcome symbol for the returning Marcos critic. Then Ninoy was shot dead and the people were awakened.
When I graduated from college, I was lucky enough to get a good job but that was not the case for most graduates because those were the days of Jobo Bills of interest rates over 40%, peso sliding in value to unchartered territories and Philippine Letters of Credit being closed. Our economy was doomed! And all because one man, whom we trusted to rule us, plundered it for two decades.
And here we are now allowing him to be buried in the hallowed grounds of the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB)! How did we get this far? What have we become as a nation? Are we telling our children now that it’s okay to plunder the economy, kill your opponents, lie big time because in a few decades, if your cronies are still in power, you can even be considered a hero!
I am so sad as a parent, as a Filipino citizen trying to remain optimistic about our country.
To answer the question how did we get here, let’s all examine ourselves. How have we contributed to this mess? Did we educate our children well about history? How come the dictator’s son almost got elected to the second highest post in the land? How come the candidate who promised to bury the dictator in the LNMB was the one who won the highest post in the land? And to those who voted for him, didn’t you see this coming? We are all in this together so maybe we should all fix this, because something is terribly wrong here.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. I will speak at the Ateneo Paradigm Entrepreneurship Crash Course on November 11, 2016at the Oakwood Joy Nostalg Center, Manila, Pasig City
2. I will speak at the Kerygma Conference on November 17, 2016 at the MOA Arena. My talk is entitled “AWESOME FAMILY, BY DESIGN (Applying Behavioral Economics in Raising a Great Family)”
3. Watch out for the continuation of my FQ talks in cooperation with Security Bank. Dates and venues to be announced.
4. I will speak at the launch of the Relationship Survey Index of PruLIfe on November 24, 2016. Venue and other details to be announced.
5. I will speak at the Parents' Convention of Chinoy TV on November 26, 2016. Venue to be announced.
6. Want to know your FQ Score, click link to take the test. Your feedback is welcome.
Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books Raising Pinoy Boys and The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples - Books of FQ Mom Rose Fres Fausto. She is a Behavioral Economist, Certified Gallup Strengths Coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook and You Tube as FQ Mom, and Twitter & Instagram as theFQMom.
