Catholic schools protest Marcos hero’s burial

MANILA, Aug. 16, 2016 — Allowing a hero’s burial for former President Ferdinand Marcos will dishonor the efforts of those who fought the dictatorship, including the mother of President Rodrigo Duterte, said Catholic educators.
Contrary to Duterte’s claim that Marcos’ burial will bring “healing,” the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said it would mock many Filipinos’ sacrifices.
“Given the gravity of Mr. Marcos’ crimes against the people and country, his burial at the Libingan will not heal or foster unity,” said CEAP in an open letter to Duterte.
Public outrage
“It will invalidate all that many heroes have spent their lives fighting for—heroes such as your beloved mother, whom we honor and remember as one of the strongest crusaders in the fight for democracy and justice,” it added.
The CEAP was referring to Duterte’s mother, Soledad Duterte, who was a leading anti-Marcos figure in Davao.
Duterte’s plan to give the late dictator a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Sept. 18  triggered public outrage.
On Sunday, several groups, including Church people, braved bad weather and staged a rally at the Luneta Park to express their objection to the planned hero’s burial for Marcos.
The CEAP, composed of 1,425 member-schools, colleges and universities, reiterated that Marcos does not belong in the heroes’ cemetery.

Not a hero
“He was not a hero,” stressed the group.
“We look forward to your promise of change being fulfilled, of old wrongs being redressed. We ask that you take the biggest step in rectifying one of the country’s oldest wrongs.”
“President Rody, we ask nothing that you have not already promised. Justice. Unity. Healing,” added CEAP.
The group also urged the President to grant Marcos’ deathbed wish to be buried next to his mother in Ilocos Norte.
“At his deathbed, Mr. Marcos himself asked that he be buried next to his mother in Ilocos, where he is revered and loved,” the CEAP said.
“Fulfilling Mr. Marcos’s deathbed wish will give us all the unity and closure that this country desperately needs,” it said. (CBCPNews) http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=82434