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Student councils, parties slam Marcos burial

Published

8 years ago

November 16, 2016

Student councils and groups in the University of Santo Tomas slammed the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SC) decision allowing the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

In a statement released Monday, Nov. 14, the University of Santo Tomas Central Student Council (CSC) said that Marcos does not qualify as a hero.

“This hero is someone who will uphold and defend the morals, liberty, and dignity of his country and its men, with these definitions in mind, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. is not a hero,” the statement read.

The CSC also said that anyone convicted of an offense cannot be buried at the heroes’ cemetery.

“Libingan ng mga Bayani honors and exalts presidents, national heroes, and patriots, who are worthy of emulation according to R.A. 289, yet AFP Regulations G 161-375 declared that the prohibition of burial applies to ‘those who have been dishonarably discharged from service or personnel convicted of an offense’…for the sole purpose of preventing anyone to make a hero out of a criminal.”

The Senior High School Student Council (SHSSC) also said in a statement last week, that the LNMB is only open for those who fought for the country’s liberty.

“Burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, a sacred site reserved for those who share the Philippines struggle for liberty and justice, legitimizes the proven atrocities that happened during the Martial Law Era.”

SHSSC also said that heroes manifest integrity, honesty, and selflessness and that Marcos’ abuse to the Philippine Democracy exhibited none of those values.

Insult to the victims

Some political parties in the University also expressed opposition toward the burial.

Faculty of Arts and Letters political party Dekada pointed out that the burial of Marcos at the LNMB would be an insult to the People Power Revolution.

“The People Power Revolution was a historical effort marked by the will of the people to gain the justice our countrymen deserves. The disregard for such momentous revolt would be a dishonor to the principle and ethics carried by those who marched in EDSA not so long ago,” the party said in their statement.

Another AB party Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UST (STAND-UST) said that the late dictator’s burial is also a way of burying all the injustices during the Martial Law.

“Marcos’ burial at the LNMB echoes the anti-people policies that the Marcoses brought to the country, a reflection that he can swing the law to his favour with the wave of his power—even from the grave. It likewise attempts to bury the anti-people policies, atrocities, and injustices during the reign of the dictator,” STAND UST said.

Last Nov. 11, the National Union of Students of the Philippines together with Anakbayan party-list and student activists from the University held a noise barrage along España Boulevard as a sign of protest against the decision of the high court.

The SC junked the petition filed by human rights groups and Martial Law victims after nine justices voted in favor of the burying Marcos at the LNMB.

In the decision penned by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, the high court said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s order was within the bounds of the law. -Raye Danielle Peralta

Photo by Mark Darius Sulit

Anna Mogato

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Related Topics:central student council DEKADA Ferdinand Marcos Sr.Libingan ng mga Bayani NUSP SHSSC STAND-UST

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Darkness looms in PH, Dagohoy warns

“Darkness looms when we allow precious lives destroyed by drugs, when we fail to hear the cries of the widows and children of thousands of men and women who were killed because of it,” he said.

Published

8 years ago

December 16, 2016

Nhuj Pascua

Photo by Mark Sulit

Rector Rev. Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. warned of a looming darkness in the country, hitting the bloody war on drugs of the Duterte administration and historical revisionism.

In his homily during the Paskuhan Mass, Thursday, Dec. 15, Dagohoy slammed drug use, the rampant extrajudicial killings and the poor justice system in the Philippines.

“Darkness looms when we allow precious lives destroyed by drugs, when we fail to hear the cries of the widows and children of thousands of men and women who were killed because of it,” he said.

“Darkness looms when we fail to fix our criminal justice system and instead take the easier route to punish the law offenders by death, depriving them the opportunity to reform their lives and extinguish from them their sense of hope.”

Dagohoy also criticized historical revisionism in his homily.

“Darkness looms when we fail to tell the stories of the lives of those who generally fought for freedom, [against] the atrocities of martial rule, and allow incontrovertible facts of history replaced by imagined benevolence and illusions of power and grandeur,” he said.

It can be recalled that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was stealthily buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani last Nov. 18 after the Supreme Court ruled that President Duterte had all the right to allow the burial – moves that critics say propagate historical revisionism.

Amid the issues in the country, Dagohoy urged Thomasians to share the sense of peace this Christmas with their loved ones.

“Peace that can only be with us if we remain proclaiming, celebrating and serving the Gospel of Life in every situation, peace that can only be with us if we learn to share the sorrows, the sense of loss and anguish of the victims of violence and support them in their search for justice,” he said.

“Peace can only be with us if only we continue narrating the stories of those who struggled for freedom and peace, freedom and democracy, so that it would never be stolen from us.”

‘No reason for admin to release statement’

Daghoy told TomasinoWeb after the Mass that there is no reason for the University administration to release a statement on the burial of Marcos as student councils and organizations have already made their stances.

“Well, mayroon namang ginawang actions ang mga Thomasian. I have seen the statement issued by the Central Student Council and other Thomasians,” he said.

UST was the only “Big Four” school which was absent during the Nov. 30 protest at the People Power Monument in Quezon City which saw UP Chancellor Michael Tan, Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Jett Villarin, and De La Salle Philippines President Jose Mari Jimenez coming onstage in solidarity with the protest.

Dagohoy explained that he respects the sentiment of the Thomasian community on the issue.

“Well, we cannot actually separate the feelings or the sentiments of one sector of the [Thomasian] community; so that could mean, when we support and when we agree with the statement of one sector, that means we upheld the sentiments.” –C.C.M.

Nhuj Pascua

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Peripheral

Students join forces vs Marcos burial

Protesters in black were unfazed by intermittent rain as they slammed Friday, Nov. 25, at the Quirino Grandstand the covert burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Published

8 years ago

November 26, 2016

Nhuj Pascua

Photo by Johmar Damiles

Protesters in black were unfazed by intermittent rain as they slammed Friday, Nov. 25, at the Quirino Grandstand the covert burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In the University, members of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines and the League of Filipino Students gathered at the Plaza Mayor at around 2 p.m. and marched around the Quadricentennial Park in a silent protest to encourage more Thomasians to join the rally.

Protesters broke into chants as they exited Gate 2 at España Boulevard.

Police were deployed along España to maintain security during the protest.

“Kaya namin pinapadala ‘yun [pulis], hindi naman kami [nandito] para pigilan ‘yung mga nagra-rally diyan. Nirerespeto namin ang karapatang ‘yan. Nandito kami para sa security ng dalawang panig,” said Sr. Insp. Philipp Ines.

Thomasian protesters were joined by students from the University of the East, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, National Teachers College and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines at Mendiola.

From Mendiola, protesters converged with other activist groups along Kalaw Avenue and marched to Luneta.

Pro-Marcos

Police estimate that the anti-Marcos crowd at Luneta reached 4,000 to 5,000 people.

Meanwhile, some 30 supporters of Marcos, President Rodrigo Duterte and the Supreme Court dubbed Duterte Youth were also present at Luneta and held their picket across Quirino Grandstand.

“Hindi na ako bilanggo ng nakaraan. Kasi kung uungkatin at uungkatin mo ‘yung nakaraan mabuhuhay ka lang nang nasasaktan,” said Nemuel Noche, a junior Political Science student from Adamson University.

Impact on youth

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said that he is worried about the impact of the burial on the future generation.

“The first impact is the revision of history. ‘Yung mga human rights violation victims ay hindi pala totoo dahil bayani pala si Marcos,” Colmenares said.

“Second impact is the lesson learned, kasi pwede ka pala magnakaw, maging diktador, tapos human rights violator, tapos pwede kang maging bayani.”

“We are here, because we want to make sure that the future will not revive the Marcosian ideology of plunder, repression and abuse,” he said.

However, Sister John Mary Mananzan of St. Scholastica’s College says that Marcos’ burial has a positive effect on the youth.

“Blessing in disguise na si Marcos ay binulabog ng kaniyang pamilya, kayo ngayon ang namulat. Millenials are the heroes,” Mananzan said.

Black ribbon movement

Last Nov. 21, the Central Student Council in cooperation with local student councils, launched the “Black Ribbon Movement” as protest against the injustices committed during Martial Law.

“We cannot be neutral or silent because this is an issue that affects the nation as a whole. It is a reminder that we must always have a rational disposition or stand,” said Artlets Student Council President Ysa Marasigan.

Marasigan also clarified that the movement is not an alternative to street protests.

“We have no problem with street protests most especially in times like this. We just thought that bringing it to the building would be a reminder to the Artlet community that apathy must stop,” she said. – P. Jamilla, J. Pimentel, R. Peralta, C. Dumaua, E.M. Bola, R. Arellano, M. Dela Paz

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Peripheral

War on drugs, a war against the poor

“Gusto ko i-stress yung issue na maraming drug-related killings at yung mga mahihirap, yung mga maralitang Pilipino ang pangunahing tinatamaan.”

Published

8 years ago

November 24, 2016

Nhuj Pascua

The government’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs is a war against the poor, speakers said during the forum titled “Batas, Hindi Dahas,” held last Wednesday, Nov. 23.

Michael Beltran of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap said that the spiraling number drug-related killings in the country target the minorities.

“Gusto ko i-stress yung issue na maraming drug-related killings at yung mga mahihirap, yung mga maralitang Pilipino ang pangunahing tinatamaan,” said Beltran.

Beltran stated that poverty caused many to venture into illegal drug trading.

“Mayorya ng mga drug-dependent sa Pilipinas ay mahihirap, ang pagtutulak lang ang kanilang kabuhayan.”

According to the 2015 Nationwide Survey on the Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse in the Philippines released last August, 53.20 percent of drug abusers in the country are unemployed.

Marielle Marcaida, of the University of the Philippines Political Science Core Group, said that their should be a “more humane” method in reducing drug use, suggesting methods grounded in science and research.

“Treat drug addiction as a public health concern, not a criminal offense,” Marcaida said.

Fr. Delfo Canceran O.P. of the UST Ecclesiastical Faculties said that drug offenders should be given another chance instead of killing them.

“The Church uphold the right to life of all human beings,” he said. “Extrajudicial killings rob the chance to reform one’s life.”

Canceran points out that extrajudicial killings are violation of to the Church. “Social order need not be paid at the expense of lives,” he said.

“Batas, Hindi Dahas” was organized by senior Sociology students in partnership with the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office, UST Sociological Society, UST Junior High School Social Studies Department, and the Artlets Student Council. – T. Aquino.