‘Bury Marcos at the Inayawan Landfill’

NO TO HISTORICAL REVISIONISM. Members of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) decry plan to bury ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in a rally held along Colon Street, Cebu City on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).

Bury former president Ferdinand Marcos at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill in Cebu City?

It is an outrageous proposal but it succinctly expresses exactly how the anti-Marcos groups feel about the burial of the ousted strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).

At least 600 of them — from different urban poor, militant and anti-Marcos groups — will be using this as a theme when they hold their protest action in Cebu City tomorrow.

The activity, dubbed as “Ilubong si Marcos sa Inayawan Landfill” (Bury Marcos at the Inayawan Landfill), is organized by the Cebu Citizens’ Assembly Against Marcos Burial and is aimed to express their protest on the latest Supreme Court (SC) decision allowing the burial of the late dictator the LNMB.

“Burying Marcos in a landfill is a symbolic act of resisting the state-funded campaign to glorify the image of the late dictator. We want to expose the rotten core of the campaign to give him a hero’s burial and expose Marcos for what he is: a plunderer, a murderer and a dictator,” said Justine Balane of Akbayan Youth, one of the members of the coalition.

Other groups in the coalition include Akbayan, Sanlakas and Sanlakas Youth, Free Legal Assistance Group, Anti-Bongbong Coalition, Youth for Nationalism and Democracy, Partido Manggagawa and urban poor groups.

Balane said they are expecting students, teachers, workers, civic groups, community leaders and public officials to join their rally, which will start at 1:30 p.m. at the South Road Properties (SRP)-Mambaling flyover going to the Inayawan landfill.

Former Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon, one of the activity’s organizers, said that aside from protesting the SC decision, burying Marcos at the Inayawan landfill instead of the LNMB is what he deserves.

“The organizers will protest the SC decision and put the dictator in his rightful place: at the Inayawan (landfill). We find it unacceptable to honor the former dictator who committed plunder and gross violation of the civil and political rights of the people,” he said.

Dizon added that they expect to mobilize between 600 to 700 people during the activity.

Last week, the High Tribunal, voting 9-5, junked a petition from human rights groups and martial law victims that questioned the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the burial of the former president at the LNMB in Taguig City, Metro Manila.