Philippine court temporarily halts burial of strongman

By Roy Ramos

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines (AA) – The Philippines Supreme Court ordered Tuesday that the planned burial of strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at the country's hero cemetery be temporarily halted after victims of rights abuses under his 20-year rule filed petitions against the move.

The court’s public information office chief, Theodore Te, told a press briefing that a 20-day “status quo ante” order was issued amid preparations to hear oral arguments by petitioners against the burial due next month.

“The status quo ante brings us back to the prevailing situation before the certain event. The event we are talking about is the [transfer] order issued by Department of National Defense,” the Philippine Star quoted him as saying.

On Aug. 7, President Rodrigo Duterte gave the go-ahead for Marcos’ burial on the grounds that he is a former soldier and president.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana then issued a memorandum asking the armed forces’ chief of staff, Gen. Ricardo Visaya, to undertake the necessary efforts for the transfer of Marcos’ remains to the cemetery in Metro Manila.

The Supreme Court consolidated Monday the five petitions against the move, with oral arguments set to be heard Aug. 31.

Those who filed a 30-page petition last week argued that more than 50,000 people were arrested during the first three years of martial law, which lasted from 1972 to 1981, while thousands more were tortured, summarily executed and disappeared.

Duterte had earlier said he would allow Marcos opponents to protest against the burial, and would respect the Supreme Court’s decision over the petitions.

Marcos was forced to flee the country by a peaceful "people power" revolt in 1986. He died in Sept. 28, 1989 while in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his preserved remains have been kept in the family's museum and mausoleum in the northern province of Ilocos Norte since his family’s return.

Arguments against the burial listed in the petitions include that such a move would breach a 1993 deal between the government and the Marcos family that the ex-president be buried in his home province, and that it runs counter to Republic Act 10368, signed in 2013, which orders the reparation and recognition of the sacrifices of human rights victims during the Marcos regime.