SC JUSTICES ON WHY 'MARCOS IS NO HERO'

By Anjo Alimario and VJ Bacungan

November 12, 2016 | CNN Philippines
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/11/12/Marcos-is-no-hero-Libingan-ng-mga-Bayani-
Supreme-Court.html

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — No less than Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno herself
led the justices who voted against the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the
"Libingan ng mga Bayani."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) junked the petitions stopping Marcos' burial at the heroes'
cemetery in a 9-5 vote, based on five grounds:

1. There was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of President Rodrigo Duterte in ordering
the burial of Marcos at LNMB because it was done in the exercise of his mandate. There is also
no law that prohibits the burial of Marcos' remains at the LNMB.

2. President Duterte has the power to reserve for public use and for specific public purposes, any
of the lands under public domain.

3. Marcos' remains, under regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, can be interred at
LNMB because he was a former president, commander-in-chief, soldier, medal of valor awardee,
and legislator.

4. The Supreme Court disagreed Marcos was "dishonorably discharged," saying the
disqualification only pertains to the military

5. Marcos cannot be disqualified from burial at LNMB because he was not convicted of crimes
involving moral turpitude.

CNN Philippines gives the full dissenting opinions of Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio
Carpio and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and looks at their major points.

Sereno: Supreme Court must remember history

"The Court is empowered to do justice, and justice in this case means preventing a whitewash of
the sins of Marcos against the Filipino people," she said.

Sereno's explained that the Supreme Court could not simply turn a blind eye to the past.

"If the Court unduly shies away from addressing the principal question of whether a decision to
bury the former President would contradict the anti-Martial Law and human rights underpinnings
and direction of the 1987 Constitution, it would, wittingly or unwittingly, weaken itself by
diminishing its role of constitutional liberties of our people," she said.
However, President Rodrigo Duterte stands by his decision to allow the burial, saying Marcos'
sins have yet to be proven.

"That part of the sins of Marcos has yet to be proven by a competent court," he said in a speech
Wednesday.

Carpio: People Power dishonorably discharged Marcos

Meanwhile, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio pointed out that when Marcos was ousted
in the 1986 People Power Revolution, he was dishonorably discharged, and effectively
disqualified from being buried at the 'Libingan.'

"This is the strongest form of dishonorable discharge from office since it is meted out by the
direct act of the sovereign people," he said.

He also said the "sufferings and deprivations" of human rights victims during martial law are
well-documented.

He cited the ruling of the U.S. District Court of Hawaii finding Marcos guilty of widespread
human rights violations. The court awarded billions of dollars in damages to human rights
victims.

Carpio also explained that Republic Act 10368 or the "Human Rights Victims Reparation and
Recognition Act of 2013" mandates that it is the "moral and legal obligation of the state" to
recognize the sufferings of the human rights victims.

"Interring Marcos on the hallowed grounds of the LNMB, which was established to show 'the
nation's esteem and reverence' for those who fought for freedom and democracy for our country,
extols Marcos and exculpates him from human rights violations," he said.

Leonen: 'Justice does not come with forgetting'

As for Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, he said justice requires accountability.

"National healing cannot simply come when the President pronounces it," he said. "It can only
come through a process that leads to social justice. Justice does not come with just forgetting."

Leonen also said the burial order violates Republic Act 289, which provides for a National
Pantheon for Philippine Presidents, national heroes and patriots.

The main decision argued that the Libingan ng mga Bayani was not covered by R.A. 289 and
that a National Pantheon was never established.

"(The) President's verbal orders, the Lorenzana Memorandum, and the Enriquez Orders all
violate the requirement in Section 1 of Republic Act No. 289 that those buried must have led
lives worthy of 'inspiration and emulation,'" he said.
Leonen also said the full guarantee of human rights is a fundamental principle enshrined in the
Constitution and that denying the petitions is to participate in the effort to create myth at the
expense of history.