The clandestine burial of the late president and dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB, Heroes’ Cemetery) on Fri, Nov 18, has roused both the good and bad out of netizens.
With this, a call to exhume Marcos’ remains (if those are really his remains at LNMB) quickly spread on social media.
But C/Supt. Oscar Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office, has a reminder for those who are planning to defile the late dictator’s grave.
“[The tomb is] heavily guarded by the AFP, particularly the Philippine Army. Lalo na ngayon, merong controversy doon,” Albayalde told ABS-CBN News.
Albayalde also said protests will be allowed outside the LNMB, so long as it is peaceful.
As thousands of people rejoiced that their “Apo” (Ilocano term for “leader”) has been laid to rest, thousands also took to the streets to protest the undeserved, hurried and secret burial of the dictator in hallowed grounds meant for heroes.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, acting president of the Liberal Party, said, “Marcos won’t be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani forever.”
“Malilibing siya pero hindi ibig sabihin na mananatili siyang nakalibing dun. Dahil habang may mga taong naninindigan laban sa naging pag-aabuso ng diktadura, itutulak natin na ang mga labi niya ay dapat ilipat,” Pangilinan said in his official statement.
(He will be buried but it doesn’t mean he will stay buried there. Because as long as there are people who will stand against the abusive dictatorship, we will push for his remains to be moved elsewhere.)
Meanwhile, Senate President Koko Pimentel said in an Inquirer report, “This being a political issue, let us not lose hope, because this [decision] can be reversed anytime.”
Pimentel belongs to PDP-Laban, incumbent Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s political party. Marcos’ burial at the LNMB was Duterte’s fulfilled campaign promise to the Marcoses.
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