Duterte’s judgment call

AS A MATTER OF FACT By Sara Soliven de Guzman (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 15,
2016 - 12:00am

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When leaders make decisions we either agree or disagree. They can make good or bad
judgments. When they seem irrational, we shake our heads and ponder. We ask ourselves what
made them think that way. Why didn’t they use reason?

When Civil Wars, World Wars not to mention Gulf Wars were launched many were upset
because lives would be at stake by the weapons of mass destruction. When the United States
with the consent of the United Kingdom dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
questions arose about its ethical justification.

When China decided to take over the West Philippine Sea without respect to the convention on
the law of the seas; claiming that those islands belong to them, we were aghast in total
disbelief.

When President Benigno Aquino prioritized the cutting of the ribbon at the Mitsubishi car plant
opening over going to the arrival honors of the slain cops (SAF 44), we were appalled by his
insensitivity.

Today, we are faced with the decision the new president has made on the burial of Marcos at
the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

People who study the situation using the basic truth, the law, will right away agree with the
president. But a man who thinks beyond this basic tenet will look for a higher level of
reasoning, that is, the president’s ethical considerations.
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The president shouldn’t just look at the small picture. He should look at the bigger picture
where he predisposes the morale of the people.

* * *

Hours before the declaration of Martial Law, my father, Max V. Soliven, invited as guest in his
television show “Impact,” Ninoy Aquino, where they discussed Oplan Sagittarius, the top-secret
military plan that would then propel President Marcos to absolute power. At 2 o’clock in the
morning of September 23, 1972, my father was arrested by the soldiers of the dictatorship and
was incarcerated for months until his release on probation. He was to report weekly at Camp
Crame, banned to travel outside Metro Manila, and was prohibited to write for years. His
friends would say – this was like preventing a singer from singing. His passion for writing
however made his anti-Marcos sentiments known in every little way he could find, until he
again went full-blast against the dictator when Ninoy was assassinated. I wonder how my father
would have reacted if he had known then that on September 18, 2016, President Marcos will be
buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) with full military honors.

Naturally, those who were hurt by Martial Law would find allowing a most-hated president
buried at the LNMB outrageous, even if the order comes from the most-popular President
Digong. My personal bias aside, the relevant issue, as I see it now, is no longer the entitlement
of Marcos to a burial lot at the LNMB, but whether or not President Digong is correct in
allowing the burial for the country to move on from this lingering political issue. He said the
“yellows” should have amended the law to expressly prohibit the burial of Marcos at the LNMB.

Now, he must apply the rule of law as it is. Indeed, Section 1 of RA 289 mandated the
construction of the national pantheon (LNMB) as burial place of the mortal remains of ALL
presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots. On April 9, 1986, then General Fidel
V. Ramos and President Corazon C. Aquino issued the AFP Regulation on allocation of cemetery
plots at the LNMB stating that those who have been dishonorably discharged from service, or
personnel convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, do not qualify for interment at the
cemetery.

As it is apparent from the words used that the disqualifications would apply to military
personnel, they should have included “ousted presidents” if that was the intent, so that there
will be no debate as to the honorable people worth emulating who deserves a burial lot at the
LNMB. As it stands now, President Marcos was not dishonorably discharged as a soldier, and he
was never convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude since the damage suits filed in the
US were civil cases.

Will rallies of anti-Marcos activists influence President Digong to call off the LNMB burial? Did
he not say he would allow them to rally as long as they want? President Digong will be
remembered for his willingness to put on the line his reputation, life and the presidency, for
what he believes to be right. I think his “political will” cannot be broken by any amount of
public pressure, especially now that even the public is divided on the issue.

There might even be more people at the LNMB interment than the anti-Marcos burial
protesters in all rallies taken collectively. At the end of the day, the Palace can say that the law
mandates the LNMB burial and that the Filipino custom of giving honor to the dead knows no
political boundaries. Whether President Digong is right or wrong in allowing this burial to
happen, it is his duty as a leader to make himself clear to the youth of the land. What message
does he want to impart?

It is expected that petitions will be filed with the Supreme Court for a restraining order, but on
what legal basis? A friend opined that even a creative interpretation of “dishonorable
discharge” or “offense involving moral turpitude”, may not do the trick because these
disqualifications are not in the law itself, and besides, the present Commander-in-Chief may
amend the AFP Regulation. With the law appearing to side with the President, would the
Supreme Court step in with an injunction and create a real constitutional crisis?

It would be interesting to find out, but with the recent exchange between the President and the
Chief Justice on the narco-judges, I do not see any crisis coming. It is good for the country that
the Chief Justice, who aired a valid concern, opted to resort to an honorable silence, and the
president followed with a statesman apology for his harsh words in reaction to the letter of the
Chief Justice. The public announcement of government officials with possible links to drugs,
based on intelligence reports, is even more legally controversial than the Marcos burial as the
former involves a constitutional due process issue.

It is evident that the president continues to enjoy the support of most Filipinos notwithstanding
his unorthodox style and “nothing to lose” attitude in effecting the changes he wants.
Reasonable or unreasonable as it may sound, we will need to deal with it. Right or wrong? It
remains to be seen, but to the president’s credit, change is already happening. May he not fail
the people’s confidence!