Marcos buried at Libingan in 'surprise' ceremony

Philippine Navy sailors stand guard at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City, where the remains of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos were to be buried at noon on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. Philstar/Efigenio Toledo IV

MANILA, Philippines (Updated ) -- The remains of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos were buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at noon on Friday despite indications from petitioners opposed to it that they would appeal a Supreme Court ruling dismissing their petitions.

 

 

Rumors of a planned burial spread on social media Friday morning, shortly before the burial was confirmed by Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, NCRPO chief. Albayalde was later seen with Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Chief Inspector Kimberly Molitas, NCRPO spokesperson, told Philstar that the police will handle perimeter security for the burial while the military will handle security inside.

 

Albayalde said in an interview on ANC that around 2,000 police and military personnel will provide security for the burial.

The burial, which was unannounced, comes on the heels of a Supreme Court decision dismissing petitions asking for it to be blocked for being illegal and for being an insult to the victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos administration.

 

The Supreme Court said that President Rodrigo Duterte, who promised during the election campaign that he would have Marcos buried at the military cemetery, did not break any laws or go beyond his authority by ordering the burial.

 

Former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, jailed and tortured during the Marcos administration, and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who lost a brother during that period, had both asked the court to issue a status quo ante order to hold off the burial until appeals on the ruling were resolved.

 

The petitioners had 15 days from receiving copies of the decision to file motions of reconsideration.

Duterte, who is abroad for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Peru, said that the opposition to the Marcos burial was just a fight between two families -- the Aquinos and Marcoses -- and that the rest of the country had simply been dragged along.

 

The Palace declined comment on the burial, saying the president had not left instructions about it.

 

The government is currently processing the claims of thousands of alleged victims of human rights violations during the Marcos administration. Qualified claimants are to be given reparations paid for by ill-gotten wealth recovered from a Marcos bank account that a Swiss court transferred to the Philippine government.

 

The Supreme Court has ruled that the money was ill-gotten wealth.

 

This is a developing story.