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Burial of Marcos to the Libingan ng mga Bayani constitute a grave historical amnesia and a contemporary aberration

Press Statements

 

          Justifying the proposed burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos by invoking the recent hero’s burial of Gen. Angelo Reyes constitutes a grave historical amnesia and a contemporary aberration.

           Contrary to the contention of Senator Antonio Trillanes, there is no parity between Marcos and Reyes, and the country has moved on without bestowing hero’s honors to the late dictator by transferring his remains from Batac, Ilocos Norte to the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

           The following factors vastly differentiate the two military figures:

           1) While Reyes was the victim of a yet unsubstantiated involvement in military corruption, Marcos accounts in Switzerland were frozen by Swiss authorities as ill-gotten wealth and transferred to the Philippines government some of the bank deposits amounting to multi-million dollars. Marcos also faced sequestration cases in the Philippines for colluding with subalterns and cronies in cornering government contracts and marauding private enterprises;

           2)  Reyes inherited the culture of corruption and impunity of the military which was nurtured by Marcos to make the military beholden to him and buttress his regime;

           3)  Reyes was never charged with human rights violations but Marcos was found guilty of human rights abuses by a US Federal Court and held his estate liable;

           4) The corruption and profligacy during the 14 years of the Marcos martial rule resulted in the devastation of the Philippine economy to below zero growth at the time he was forcibly ousted by the people in 1986; and

           5) While Reyes was distraught by allegations of corruption against him, Marcos died unrepentant of plunder charges even as his heirs and scions maintain an aura and arrogance of being lily white.