MANILA, Philippines — The final verdict of the Supreme Court upholding the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not bury the memory of the atrocities committed during his dictatorship, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said.
“Despite the reported finality of the Supreme Court decision allowing the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Marcos will not be able to rest in peace in the memorial grounds for heroes, which he does not deserve and does not deserve him,” he said.
Lagman, a victim of Marcos’ martial law regime, was one of the lead petitioners at the Supreme Court who questioned the dictator’s burial, which President Rodrigo Duterte allowed.
The Albay lawmaker said he believes the issue of the “morality and justness” of Marcos’ interment at the “Cemetery of Heroes” is “beyond the purview of the High Court because no decision to warrant such interment can cleanse Marcos of the atrocities, abuses and plunder which he, his family and cronies committed during the Marcos martial law regime.”
“While the Supreme Court can adjudicate the legality of the Marcos burial, it is the Filipino people and history which would ultimately decide on the validity or gross error of the majority ruling of a divided court,” he said.
“Since the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of legal issues, it could be supreme even in its errors,” he added.
