BURIAL OF MARCOS SA LNMB

(Controversy Analytical Paper)

Group members

Cañas, Mayki U.

Cobol, Rochelle C.

Introduction

Let’s take a closer look at the Marcos burial issue. It started during Du30’s election campaign in
Ilocos Norte, when he promised that if he became president, Ferdinand Marcos would be
buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LMB). Mr. President, do you really think that people
voted for you because you promised to bury Marcos in the LMB? If yes, don’t you think you
should ask either Pulse Asia or Social Weather Stations to settle the issue? Or perhaps to
validate if the Filipino people want him to be buried there? But no one can stop by Mr.
President Rodrigo Duterte he won as a President and still insisting that Marcos be buried in the
LMB because he was a soldier, period. And all soldiers are entitled to burial there. But Mr.
President, aren’t soldiers buried in the LMB because it is assumed that they fought for their
country? And soldiers who died fighting for their country are assumed heroes. Thats the reason
why a lot poeple are so defensive because Marcos certainly did not die for his country. As a
matter of fact, the research done by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
shows that Marcos took advantage of whatever army connections he had for fraudulent
money-making and self-aggrandizing purposes. So, if he is not a hero, and not even worthy to
be called a soldier, isn’t it obvious, Mr. President, that he shouldn’t be buried in the LMB? Isn’t
it obvious he should stay in Ilocos Norte?

Discussion

The burial of Marcos, who died in 1989, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani has been a controversial
issue as objectors, including victims of human rights violations during the dictator's brutal
period of rule and participants of the People Power Revolution, have opposed attempts to bury
Marcos citing the rampant corruption and cronyism of his administration; its practice of
silencing dissent through arrests, disappearances, and torture by the police and military; and
his family's infamous kleptocracy amounting to an estimated $10 billion worth of stolen money
that had earned Ferdinand and his wife Imelda the Guinness World Record for "the Greatest
Theft of a Government" (which was eventually deleted by Guinness World Records in the run-
up to the 2022 presidential election). Opinion on his burial was split: 50% of the 1,800
respondents of a survey conducted by SWS in February 2016 said Marcos "was worthy to be
buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani" while the other half rejected a hero's burial.

There were conflicting claims on where the deceased Marcos wished to be buried. Former
Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III, one of the signatories of an agreement to move Marcos'
body from Hawaii to the Philippines during the term of then-President Fidel V. Ramos, said that
Marcos wished to be buried beside his mother in his hometown in Batac, Ilocos Norte, while his
wife Imelda Marcos said that his wish was to be buried in Manila insisting that he should be
buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Former presidents Corazon Aquino, who had ousted
Marcos during the People Power Revolution, and Fidel V. Ramos had opposed moves to bury
Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani during their respective terms, while former president
Joseph Estrada attempted to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani but later canceled the
burial. President Benigno Aquino III, Corazon Aquino's son, decided not to allow the body of
Marcos to be buried at the cemetery. His successor Rodrigo Duterte, during the campaign
period and debates as well as when he had won the presidential election, repeatedly asserted
his plans for the burial of the remains, claiming that the act was in accordance with the existing
laws of the Philippines and insisting that the burial would be an instrument for the beginning of
"nation-wide healing". The plan was met with criticism due to its perceived historical
revisionism. Yes a lot of controversy happened.

Conclusion

Eventually, September 13, 2016, then again on October 18 that same year, the Supreme Court
permitted, on November 8, Ferdinand Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.The burial
of Marcos, with military honors, was conducted in a private ceremony on November 18, 2016
and resulted in nationwide protests by groups, sectors, and personalities opposing the burial of
Marcos at the state cemetery.

Annotated Bibliography

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_of_Ferdinand_Marcos#:~:text=The%20burial%20of
%20Marcos%2C%20who,Marcos%20citing%20the%20rampant%20corruption