FACT CHECK | Claim that Marcos is a hero because he is buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is misleading

June 23, 2022 , 09:09 PM

By Mikee Garcia

(June 23, 2022) – A YouTube video claimed that the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is a hero for being buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), where he was laid to rest in 2016 after much controversy.

This claim is misleading.

CLAIM:

In a video uploaded last June 22 on the Daddy D YouTube channel, the vlogger spoke to a crowd of vloggers with phones on tripods recording him along Manila Bay:

“Libingan ng mga Bayani, sino nakalibing? Ferdinand Marcos. Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos ang nakalibing. Manila Memorial (cemetery), sino nakalibing? Ninoy Aquino. Sino ang bayani? O, wag na natin pahabain.”

RATING: MISLEADING

FACTS:

President Rodrigo Duterte, then a candidate in the 2016 national elections, vowed to have the late dictator buried in the LNMB. After he sat in office on June 30 that year, Duterte immediately made orders to arrange the interment of Marcos.

But Duterte made clear that Marcos was not a hero. In a press conference in Davao City on August 2016, he said:

“Ang Pilipinas is you need only to be a president and a soldier. Nobody is debating about heroes here. Assuming it to be true na wala siyang medalya or not validated by an American record does not mean that he is not qualified to be buried there. So, what’s the objection?”

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines had argued that Marcos’ record as a soldier during World War II was “fraught with myths, factual inconsistencies, and lies” but the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Regulations G 161-375 still mandates that Presidents or Commanders-in-Chief of the AFP are eligible for interment at the LNMB.

The Supreme Court in November of 2016 voted 9-5 to dismiss several petitions of human rights advocates and lawyers to prohibit Marcos’ burial in the LNMB, stating that Duterte acted within the bounds of law and jurisprudence.

“As stated, the purpose of the LNMB, both from the legal and historical perspectives, has neither been to confer to the people buried there the title of ‘hero’ nor require that only those interred therein should be treated as a ‘hero,’” the decision explained.

The decision also noted that there are certain things better left for history, and not the high court, to adjudge. But while the country must move on and let this issue rest, “To move on is not to forget the past.”

Other former presidents buried at the LNMB are Elpidio Quirino, Carlos P. Garcia, and Diosdado Macapagal.

Marcos was buried in the LNMB a week after the SC decision was released.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

As of writing, the video has received 115,568 views, more than 4,000 likes, and 439 comments. The Daddy D YouTube channel has over 80,700 subscribers.

News5 is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, e-mail info@factsfirst.ph. Message News 5’s Facebook page if you want to have any claims fact-checked.

Read our fact-checking policy here.

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