MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has given the go signal for the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Tuesday, November 8.
By a vote of 9-5 with one inhibition, the high court rejected seven consolidated petitions seeking to block the Duterte administration’s decision to allow a hero’s burial for the late strongman. According to the SC, the petitions, led by Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, had no merit.
Those who voted in favor of Marcos’ hero’s burial include Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Lucas Bersamin, Estela Peras-Bernabe, Mariano del Castillo, Teresita de Castro, Jose Mendoza, Diosdado Peralta, Jose Perez, and Presbitero Velasco Jr.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Maria Loures Sereno as well as Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Francis Jardaleza and Marvic Leonen dissented.
Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes, who inhibited from the case, did not cite specific reasons for his recusement. Reyes is Duterte’s fraternity brother at San Beda College of Law who administered the President’s oath last June. He is also a former lawyer of the Aquino family and a close friend and business partner of former President Benigno Aquino III, who appointed him to the high court.
As a fulfilment of his campaign promise to the Marcoses and the Ilocanos, Marcos ordered the late dictator’s burial at the Libingan and instructed the Department of Defense to start the preparations for a hero’s burial on September 18.
However, martial law victims asked the SC to meddle as burying Marcos in the national shrine violates Republic Act 289. The High Court issued a status quo ante order (SQAO) on the hero’s burial of Marcos until September 13. This order was extended until October 18 and eventually until November 8.
--Mini, The Summit Express
By a vote of 9-5 with one inhibition, the high court rejected seven consolidated petitions seeking to block the Duterte administration’s decision to allow a hero’s burial for the late strongman. According to the SC, the petitions, led by Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, had no merit.
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| Twenty-seven years after his death, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos can now be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Do you think he deserves it? PHOTO CREDIT: Manila Bulletin |
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Maria Loures Sereno as well as Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Francis Jardaleza and Marvic Leonen dissented.
Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes, who inhibited from the case, did not cite specific reasons for his recusement. Reyes is Duterte’s fraternity brother at San Beda College of Law who administered the President’s oath last June. He is also a former lawyer of the Aquino family and a close friend and business partner of former President Benigno Aquino III, who appointed him to the high court.
As a fulfilment of his campaign promise to the Marcoses and the Ilocanos, Marcos ordered the late dictator’s burial at the Libingan and instructed the Department of Defense to start the preparations for a hero’s burial on September 18.
However, martial law victims asked the SC to meddle as burying Marcos in the national shrine violates Republic Act 289. The High Court issued a status quo ante order (SQAO) on the hero’s burial of Marcos until September 13. This order was extended until October 18 and eventually until November 8.
--Mini, The Summit Express
