ONE OF the attributes we Filipinos have is our forgiving nature, so much so that we are now considering burying at the Libingan ng mga Bayani a dictator-president, Ferdinand Marcos, who placed the Philippines on the world map as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Wasn’t it only less than 30 years ago when millions of Filipinos marched on Edsa to oust Marcos?
Now we are ready to accord him a burial that is worthy of a hero? The late Senator Ninoy Aquino and the late President Cory Aquino who both sacrificed for us to regain our democracy must be turning in their graves right now.
By burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, we would be telling young Filipinos that government leaders who presumably perform some good deeds, like serving in the military, can be considered heroes even if later in their lives they would violate the human rights of thousands of Filipinos and bankrupt our country by stealing billions of dollars from our public coffers. Moreover, we would be telling future generations of Filipinos that it is okay for us to forgive and forget without justice being served to victims of a cruel regime.
If this plan to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani pushes through, I wouldn’t be surprised if several years down the line, there will also be groups who will push for the establishment of a monument in the heart of Manila for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a champion of good governance and ethical leadership in our country.
Unless we learn the lessons from our experiences and commit to memory the sins and mistakes of the past, we will never be able to move forward as a nation.
—HARVEY S. KEH,
director for Youth Leadership
and Social Entrepreneurship,
Ateneo de Manila University-
School of Government,
harveykeh@gmail.com