Do not distort history! Marcos was a tyrant and plunderer, never a hero

We strongly urge President Benigno S. Aquino III not to conspire with those pushing for the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. He will not only do injustice, ironically, to his own father, assassinated Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was among the most prominent figures in the fight against the Marcos dictatorship. But more importantly, he will do injustice to the thousands of nameless and faceless Filipinos who risked life and limb, who perished without trace, who suffered the most excruciating torture in the struggle to end the dictatorial regime. He will do injustice to current and future generations of Filipinos who shall be forced to forget the atrocities and abuses blatantly committed by Marcos, his family and cronies.

 

We could not allow this if we are to move on as a people and as a nation. We could not simply forget the past in the name of so-called political reconciliation which in reality is nothing but a compromise between factions of the ruling elite for the sake of political expediency. Doing so is a surefire formula for another tyrant and plunderer – more vicious than ever – to again arise and terrorize the people. Leaders like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who did not officially put the country under Martial Law but oppressed the people and plundered the country very much like Marcos did, should serve as a pungent reminder of how a country must never forget nor distort its past but instead learn from it.

 

Twenty-five years since the first People Power, Marcos and his relatives and cronies have never been prosecuted for their many crimes against the people. Meanwhile, Marcosian economic policies that further pushed the country into a perpetual state of crisis, poverty, and backwardness such as automatic debt servicing remain in place and continue to impoverish the country and the people.

 

Burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will practically absolve his relatives and cronies from their accountability and will further legitimize the anti-people policies and fascist decrees that his dictatorship initiated and were continued by succeeding regimes.  We also oppose the recommendation to give Marcos full military honors.

 

Thus, we encourage everyone to sign this petition opposing all moves and plans to distort the past and bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani or give him any hero’s recognition.

 

Let us remind the Aquino administration and Congress that Ferdinand Marcos was a brutal tyrant, a plunderer, and a traitor to the Filipino people.  He was never a hero. 

 

Let us teach the correct historical lessons to the youth and the generations to follow.#