DUTERTE ELECTION, NOT JUSTIFICATION OF MARCOS BURIAL AT THE LIBINGAN

ELECTION OF DUTERTE DOES NOT ALLOW HIM TO DEFY THE LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION BY ORDERING THE MARCOS BURIAL AT THE LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI: Associate Justice Perez during the oral arguments last August 31, 2016 rhetorically asked: Is not the election of President Duterte, the decision of the sovereign itself, to allow the Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani? I have heard that argument before from Duterte fanatics, i.e. that by reason of Duterte’s election, he can skip due process to wipe out criminality. Most sadly, Associate Justice Perez is utterly mistaken. President Duterte can only enforce the law and not defy it and the standards set by law are most clear. The Libingan shall be the burial place of the mortal remains only of “those illustrious sons of the Philippines, who, on account of the patriotism, knowledge, or other salient qualities possessed by them in life, attracted to themselves the respect and veneration of their fellow citizens” (Act No. 1856, 1908) and those “Presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots” whose memory deserve to be perpetuated “for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn” (Republic Act No. 289, 1948).

These laws President Duterte cannot defy, more so the Constitution. While sovereignty indeed resides in the people, the people in ratifying the 1987 Constitution under which President Duterte was elected, have chosen a democratic form of government which among others is characterized by the principle of separation of powers. Duterte could not even enter on the execution of his office as President without first taking his oath to preserve and defend the Constitution. Thus, President Duterte’s Order to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, being in clear contravention of the law which he is duty-bound to enforce, is most clearly a brazen and arrogant manifestation of abuse of power, an executive usurpation of legislative power, violative of the principle of separation of powers, in utter disregard of the will of the sovereign Filipino people who have vested legislative power in the Congress of the Philippines only.

THE LIBINGAN IS A HEROES CEMETERY, NOT JUST SOLDIERS' CEMETERY

THE LIBINGAN MOST CLEARLY IS NOT MERELY A SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL BUT A CEMETERY FOR HEROES WHICH THUS DISQUALIFIES MARCOS FOR BURIAL THERE: Justice de Castro in implying that the Libingan ng mga Bayani is just a soldier's memorial, appears to be supporting the view of the Office of the Solicitor General that it is not actually reserved for heroes (the OSG acknowledged and admitted that Marcos is not a hero). Presidential issuances however most clearly show that it is intended precisely as a cemetery for heroes pursuant to the pertinent laws on the matter, thus the very reason why President Magsaysay renamed it as such.

That such is the purpose of the Libingan is most evident in President Magsaysay’s Executive Order No. 77, s. 1954, honoring the memory of our war dead, finding it most “fitting and proper that their remains be interred in one national cemetery”, which he subsequently renamed through Proclamation No. 86, s. 1954 as “Libingan ng mga Bayani”, so as to make it truly “symbolic of the cause for which our soldiers have died” (namely, their heroism in defense of freedom and democracy) as well as to “express the nation’s esteem and reverence for her war dead”.
President Ramos’s own Executive Order No. 131, s. of 1993 confirms this. It declares that our “National Artists and National Scientists are national heroes who, upon death, are entitled to state funeral” and thus the honor of being buried too at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
For all intents and purposes then, the Libingan ng mga Bayani has already become the National Pantheon, envisioned and referred to by Act No. 1856 and Republic Act No. 289. It is precisely to realize the legal intent and spirit of said laws which reserve the National Pantheon only to those which can serve as an inspiration and as models for emulation, that President Ramos expanded the coverage as to who may be buried there to include National Artists and National Scientists who he declared are also national heroes.
The Honorable Supreme Court cannot ignore and be oblivious of its own declaration in the case of Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, Et. Al. vs. Yolanda Arquero, Et. Al. (G.R. No. 161405, July 21, 2006), acknowledging that the Libingan ng mga Bayani is “the memorial park for our national heroes… and should be respected as the fitting resting place of our fallen soldiers and martyrs”.
That some who were buried there are not heroes does not depart from the fact that it is intended as its name connotes as a heroes cemetery and Marcos, the dictator, plunderer and human rights violator cannot at all be considered a hero. The laws are there and they provide standards as to who are deserving to be buried at the Libingan. Now that a legal dispute has arisen, it is the solemn constitutional duty of the Honorable Supreme Court to so interpret the law, apply the standards that they provide and stop the burial of Marcos at the Libingan.

DEATH PENALTY, NOT EFFECTIVE DETERRENT

The President wants to restore the death penalty to strike fear in the hearts of criminals. It fails to consider that crime has socio-economic causes like poverty and injustice. Ang taong nagigipit kahit sa patalim kakapit. People who are victims of injustice and cannot get justice from our legal system, will take the law into their own hands. It likewise fails to consider that what is lacking and what we need is a strict and consistent enforcement of the law through our justice system. This is what will effectively deter crimes and not any killing or death penalty.
What is needed is a strict and consistent enforcement of the law, so that people will know that when they commit a crime, there is certainty of punishment and there will be no escape from the long arm of the law.

THE DIGNITY OF THE ENTIRE NATION WILL BE DEBASED IF MARCOS IS BURIED AT THE LNMB

The Libingan ng mga Bayani is hallowed ground, for interred therein are the mortal remains of the Filipino people’s war heroes and martyrs who fought for our freedom during the Second World War. Previously named “Republic Memorial Cemetery”, the late President Ramon Magsaysay, saw it most fitting to rename it “Libingan ng mga Bayani”, to truly represent “the cause for which our soldiers have died” (namely the defense of our people’s freedom and democracy) as well as “express the nation’s esteem and reverence for her war dead” (Proclamation No. 86, October 27, 1954).
It is hallowed ground for it also keeps the mortal remains of other illustrious men and women of our nation, among them, our National Artists and National Scientists who are themselves our people’s national heroes deserving too of appropriate honors/ceremonies befitting their stature as declared by President Ramos in his Executive Order No. 131, s. 1993.
By reason of the fact of the burial of these national heroes of ours in this hallowed ground and through these Presidential Proclamations, the Libingan ng mga Bayani, for all intents and purposes, has already become our country’s National Pantheon envisioned by Act No. 1856 way back in 1908 and reiterated by Republic Act No. 289 in 1948, which laws clearly granted our people the right to honor only as heroes those deserving their respect and veneration; esteem and reverence and who can serve as inspiration and models for emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn.
It is these hallowed grounds, particularly, the memory of our national heroes which the President most sadly now seeks to desecrate when he recently issued his order allowing the burial at the Libingan of one acknowledged as one of the most corrupt leaders of the world, who has shamelessly plundered the people’s money and violated wholesale their human rights, which consequently will perpetrate the lie that he is a hero, in blatant violation of the right of the Filipino people, including the generations still unborn, to those whom they will honor only as heroes.
The dark years of the Marcos dictatorship which has in fact debased the honor and dignity of the entire Filipino nation and the people’s glorious and heroic struggle which eventually toppled it, is already part of the country’s historical and cultural heritage, which they have the right and duty to preserve in their collective memory, to enable them to pass it to the generations still unborn, lest failure to do so and thus learn from its lessons, may again allow tyranny to rule this sad land of ours.
The said Order of the President, sadly will likewise violate their right to restore their said debased honor and dignity as well as their right to the truth of their said historical heritage, as the burial will most evidently distort history as to who Marcos was to the Filipino people and thus consequently erase or at the very least dim from their collective memory what really happened during the martial law years.
By reason of the foregoing, said Order of the President is not only illegal but unconstitutional but a most great injustice to our people, an affront to their dignity as well as their right to the truth as regards their historical heritage, more particularly of the countless victims of human rights violations during Martial Law, whose “heroism and sacrifices”, have already been recognized by law and whose honor and dignity the State is legally mandated to restore (Republic Act No. 10368).
It is this most underserved illegal as well as unconstitutional burial which the Petitions now pending before the Honorable Supreme Court seek to prevent. Filipinos who may not be actually human rights victims of torture, murder, disappearance and illegal detention have themselves sustained legal injury and may in fact themselves file a Petition before the Honorable Supreme Court not only on behalf of themselves but in representation of the generations still unborn.
As early as 1948, our legislators have already the concept of intergenerational responsibility, the need to preserve and perpetuate the memory of our “national heroes and patriots for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn”. After all, the patrimony of the nation which our Constitution mandates us to conserve and develop “refers not only to our rich natural resources but also to the cultural heritage of our race” and as Justice Padilla, adds in his Concurring Opinion in Manila Prince Hotel vs. Government Service Insurance System, Et. Al. ( G.R. No. 122156, February 3, 1997), also our historical heritage.
It is more importantly, on behalf of our children, our grandchildren, and the generations still unborn that this generation should oppose this burial, so that it will be forever be preserved in our people’s collective memory what really happened in those dark days of our history (which the burial seeks to erase), that never again should we allow tyranny to descend on this most unfortunate land of ours.

DRUG ADDICTS NEED TO BE HEALED, NOT KILLED

President Duterte was recently quoted to have said that he was willing to kill the 3 million drug addicts in the Philippines if it were the only way to solve the country’s drug problem (http://newsinfo. inquirer.net/820847/heil-digong).
But that is not the only way to solve the drug problem as the President most sadly falsely assumes. He fails to consider that drug addiction is a medical problem. Drug addicts need to be healed and not killed. His meting a death sentence on drug addicts is not only unjust but illegal. The law on the matter itself (The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) does not consider them beyond salvation as the President seems to believe, for which extermination is the only solution, as Section 15 thereof most clearly provides that those who are apprehended or arrested, who are found to be positive for use of any dangerous drug, after a confirmatory test, shall be imposed a penalty of a minimum of six (6) months rehabilitation. Indeed, the law itself provides that they should be rehabilitated and not exterminated. Yet sadly, we have death squads roaming around killing persons who are merely drug dependents, who may still be rehabilitated and thus positively contribute to the country’s well-being.

It should likewise be borne in mind that drug addiction may only be a symptom of a deeper problem. Studies show that persons with disability, wanting to numb the physical and/or emotional pain they experience end up with substance abuse (https://www.addiction. com/4012/substance-abuse-disability/). Thus, meting a death sentence on them is doubly illegal since their rehabilitation is in fact the Government’s concern as mandated by the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.
Hitler did not only exterminate the Jews. He likewise also murdered mentally and physically disabled Germans whom he considered as burdens on society. This is the image of persons with disability which the Magna Carta precisely seeks to demolish, to accord to them the rights and privileges that they are entitled to as human persons and to break the social barriers which limit their fullest possible participation in the life of the community. Sadly, this very rationale of the law is being subverted by the President’s latest pronouncements on drug addicts.
We want our President to succeed as his success will ultimately redound to the people’s benefit. Instead of rationalizing and justifying his latest pronouncements, we who truly care for him and our people have to tell him that his view on drug addicts is a most grievous error.

BRILLANTES LAW: Deterrent to criminality

BRILLANTES LAW: Deterrent to criminality: What is lacking and what we need is a strict and consistent enforcement of the law through our justice system. This is what will effec...

Deterrent to criminality

What is lacking and what we need is a strict and consistent enforcement of the law through our justice system. This is what will effectively deter crimes and not any killing or death penalty.

What is needed is a strict and consistent enforcement of the law, so that people will know that when they commit a crime, there will be no escape from the long arm of the law. Our newly elected leaders likewise have to address the root causes of criminality like poverty and injustice. Many are driven to take the path of criminality because of poverty. Ang taong nagigipit kahit sa patalim kakapit. People who are victims of injustice and cannot get justice from our legal system, will take the law into their own hands.