Filipino activists call out Duterte over Marcos burial

Opposition from all sectors is growing against plan to give former dictator funeral fit for a hero.

Manila:  Filipino activists have vowed to step up protests against a plan by President Rodrigo Duterte to give a hero’s burial for the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

On Aug. 18, martial law survivors and families of victims of human rights abuses broke through a police barricade outside a cemetery for the country's heroes in Manila to show their indignation at Duterte's plan.

Last week, a thousand people wore white as they listened to victims of martial law give testimonies of their personal suffering under the Marcos dictatorship.

Activists accuse Duterte of upending history in his recognition of the dictator’s right to be honored by the state. No clear dates have been given for the burial though.

Duterte’s critics, however, suspect the event could be sometime before Sept. 21.

The president said he is not saying that Marcos is a hero, but is a former president that deserves to be buried in the cemetery.

A Duterte spokesman said the president is no supporter of dictatorship.

Few, except Duterte's die-hard supporters and Marcos loyalists, are buying the argument.

Activists say the burial aims to rehabilitate the fortunes of Marcos’ heirs. Marcos' son and namesake, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., lost narrowly in the vice presidential race in May elections.

The Marcos burial issue started in the 1990s. Former president Fidel Ramos, head of the now defunct Philippine Constabulary during the dictatorship, agreed to the return of Marcos’ remains from Hawaii on condition that the burial would take place in the dictator's hometown.

Subsequent national leaders have held to that condition until Duterte came along.

Even the underground Left, which is seen as an ally of Duterte, slammed the president's plan.

"Duterte is virtually deleting Marcos’ bloody record as a military despot and the fascist violence, human rights violations, corruption and economic hardships he made the Filipino people suffer," read a statement from the communist rebels.

The rebel group National Democratic Front of the Philippines, whose leaders say the burial issue will not jeopardize the resumption of peace talks next week, also expressed opposition to honoring the former dictator.

"By flaunting his ties and alliance with the Marcos family, Duterte is helping the Marcosian scheme to revise history and make the younger generations overlook the colossal plunder and sale of the country’s patrimony... [and the] massacre of freedom and democracy," the rebels said.

The activists vow to mobilize a huge crowd on Sept 18, the planned date for the burial.

Church groups are expected to play a big part in the protest.

During the years of martial law, Catholic bishops played an influential role in propping up independent media groups during an era of censorship. The church also helped organize the rural poor.

As Duterte increasingly engages in saber rattling with various sectors whom he thinks are undermining him, the president may soon realize that the vaunted strategy of splitting your enemies, of unleashing half-truths and gossip against enemies, may fail when a leader comes across people and groups that cannot be bought and cannot be cowed.

Inday Espina-Varona is editor and opinion writer for various publications in Manila.

Source: UCAN