Press Release
August 9, 2016

Hontiveros to Duterte: You can't destroy oligarchy by giving Marcos a hero's burial

"For someone who publicly disapproves of oligarchs, President Duterte's decision to give the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero's burial is the height of contradiction."

This was the statement issued today by Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros as she opposed the plan by the government to bury the remains of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

In a resolution she filed on Monday, Hontiveros said that allowing the former President to be buried at the cemetery will only cause further divisiveness and reopen old wounds, especially as the country is in the process of providing reparations to Martial Law victims.

"President Duterte cannot end the rule of oligarchs in the country by honoring the very man who created a crony oligarchy during Martial Law," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros argued that Marcos does not qualify to be buried at the heroes' cemetery. She said that while the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regulation regarding the allocation of cemetery plots at the LNMB allows for the burial of former presidents, an exception was provided for those who were convicted of offenses involving moral turpitude.

"In the case of Hilao v. Estate of Marcos, the jury found the estate of defendant Ferdinand Marco liable to 10,059 plaintiffs for the acts of torture, summary execution and disappearance. This conviction should suffice to disqualify Marcos from being buried at the heroes' cemetery," Hontiveros explained.

The neophyte senator said that the Duterte government should just lay the remains of the late strongman in his hometown or some other place "that will not serve to distort history, assail democracy and insult all those who fought and died to end the dictatorship."

"This is the more appropriate resolution that the government can pursue on this matter rather than yield to the Marcoses' attempt to paint a rosy picture of the dictatorship, rehabilitate their image and whitewash their crimes against the people," Hontiveros ended.


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

SENATE

P.S. Res. No. _______

INTRODUCED BY SEN. ANA THERESIA "RISA" HONTIVEROS BARAQUEL

A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE CRIMES OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS TO THE REPUBLIC, AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED UNDER HIS REGIME, RENDER HIM UNFIT TO BE BURIED AT THE LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI

WHEREAS, the Libingan ng mga Bayani (hereafter, Libingan) is the designated resting place for Filipino soldiers, war veterans, and citizens considered as heroes and martyrs;

WHEREAS, given the long history of the Filipino people with tyranny and oppression, the Libingan has been created to honor the memory of our brave countrymen who fought for freedom and liberties even in the face of superior force, so that the present generation may remember and emulate their legacy;

WHEREAS, President Rodrigo Duterte has declared his intention to allow former President Ferdinand Marcos to be buried at the Libingan in fulfillment of a promise made during the campaign to the Marcos family;

WHEREAS, while according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Regulation The Allocation of Cemetery Plots at the LNMB issued on 9 April 1986, former Presidents may be buried at the Libingan, an exception was provided for those "who were dishonorably separated, reverted or discharged from the service, and those who were convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude (emphasis supplied)";

WHEREAS, in the case of Hilao v. Estate of Marcos (In re Estate of Marcos Human Rights Litigation, 910 F. Supp. 1460), the jury found the estate of defendant Ferdinand Marcos liable to 10,059 plaintiffs for the acts of torture, summary execution, and disappearance;

WHEREAS, testimonies of the plaintiffs revealed that during the Martial Law period, of which former President was the architect, human rights violations included, but were not limited to: beatings while blindfolded, the "telephone", where a detainees ears were clapped simultaneously, insertion of bullets between the fingers of the detainee and squeezing the hand, the "wet submarine" where the detainee's head was submerged in a toilet bowl full of excrement, the "water cure" where a cloth was placed over the detainee's mouth and nose, and water poured over it producing a drowning sensation, the "dry submarine" where a plastic bag was placed over the detainee's head producing suffocation, use of a detainee's hands for putting out lighted cigarettes, use of flat-irons on the soles of a detainee's feet, forcing a detainee while wet and naked to sit before an air conditioner often while sitting on a block of ice, injection of a clear substance into the body a detainee believed to be truth serum, stripping, sexually molesting and raping female detainees; one male plaintiff testified he was threatened with rape, electric shock where one electrode is attached to the genitals of males or the breast of females and another electrode to some other part of the body, usually a finger, and electrical energy produced from a military field telephone is sent through the body, Russian roulette, and solitary confinement while handcuffed or tied to a bed;

WHEREAS, this conviction should suffice to disqualify former President Marcos from being remembered in history as a hero, and from lying beside those who have demonstrated extraordinary heroism and valor in the service of the country;

WHEREAS, allowing the former President to be buried at the Libingan will only cause further divisiveness, and will reopen old wounds, especially as the country is also in the process of providing reparations to Martial Law victims;

WHEREAS, President Duterte cannot end the rule of oligarchs in the country by honoring the very man who created a crony oligarchy during Martial Law;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT,

RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, to express the sense that former President Marcos should not be allowed to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, given findings of crimes involving moral turpitude as well as the human rights violations that occurred during his administration.

 

SEN. ANA THERESIA "RISA" HONTIVEROS BARAQUEL

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