By a vote of 9-5-1, the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday, November 8, rejected the petitions seeking to stop the burial of former Philippine strongman and kleptocrat President Ferdinand Marcos Sr at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

After the SC announced the verdict, the XU Central Student Government (CSG) released a statement on the issue, calling Marcos undeserving of a hero’s burial.

“XU Central Student Government is deeply saddened and disturbed by the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the burial of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Our conviction is clear — Marcos was no hero, and he does not deserve a hero's burial. We have not forgotten,” the post said.

The online statement garnered mixed reactions from XU students. Other students asked the CSG to "respect the law" and "forgive and move on."

However, the CSG remains firm with its position. “His atrocities include extra judicial killings, unresolved disappearances, plunder of the nation’s wealth, and torture of heinous sorts to the tens of thousands. His projects of progress could not compensate the pillage he has done to our country. His achievements do not justify the moral violations he wrought upon the Filipino people,” the CSG wrote in its statement, dated September 21 this year in commemoration of the 44th anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law in the Philippines.

The XU Chaplaincy called on the members of the XU community to join the silent protest which started at the Xavier University Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church lights were switched off after the 5:30PM mass on Wednesday, November 9.

In "prayerful silence," candles were lit outside the main entrance of the university church. 

The Crusader Publication, XU’s student paper, also changed the color of its logo in protest of the decision of the High Court, saying “the atrocities committed by the Marcos administration greatly outweigh the late dictator's legal entitlement to a burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.”

Xavier Ateneo president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, during the Open Season subscription launching of the Crusader Yearbook on November 9, recounted to XU seniors how Martial Law had prevented their high school batch, in 1975, to produce their own yearbook as a memorabilia.

(RELATED READ: Necropolitics behind Marcos burial issue: ‘What do we bury?’)

"Personally, I am very sad and very disappointed at the Supreme Court’s decision. I was in high school when Martial Law was declared and I spent my college years during the Martial Law era. President Marcos stole from our country, tortured a lot of people, and committed a lot of human rights violations. This is really a sad decision for our country," Yap told The Crusader Publication in a video interview.

Based on the figures of Amnesty International, there were over 3,200 killed, 70,000 imprisoned, and 34,000 tortured under the 21 long years of the Marcos regime.

"It is Christian to forgive, but you forgive somebody who is sorry for what he has done. And we have not heard that apology at all. The [Marcoses] claim they have done nothing wrong. So, while it is Christian to forgive, it is also Christian to be contrite for what has been done and there has been no acknowledgement of [those atrocities]," the Jesuit university president added. 

Yap posed a challenge to the academic community following the decision that, according to him, has "dented, minimized, and diminished" the spirit of the first EDSA People Power Revolution.

"The challenge for us, for me as an educator, is that we should really work hard so that people do not forget the peaceful revolution that we did. ... The real task is that there’s really a whole new generation that we need to remind. We need to do our history better. We have to make people understand so that [Martial Law] won't happen again," he said.

People opposing the SC decision also flocked to Cagayan de Oro’s Magsaysay Park and Kiosko Kagawasan to express their disappointment and disgust over the granting of a hero's burial to the former dictator.

At the age of 72, Marcos died on September 28, 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he succumbed to lupus erythematosus while in exile, after being ousted through the 1986 People Power Revolution. ∎

Words by Stephen Pedroza | All photos by Rico Magallona

In "prayerful silence," candles were lit outside the main entrance of the Xavier University Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Wednesday night.

On November 9, members of the XU community gathered at the entrance of the university church to offer prayers as silent protest on the decision of the Supreme Court to allow a hero's burial for the late dictator, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Kagay-anons opposing the SC decision flocked to Cagayan de Oro’s Magsaysay Park to express their dismay over the High Court's decision to grant of a hero's burial to Marcos.

Martial Law victims, academics, and students assembled at Cagayan de Oro’s Magsaysay Park on November 9 to condemn the SC verdict favoring the legal entitlement of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Anti-Marcos protesters expressed their dismay and disgust over the SC decision, chanting "Marcos is no hero!"