SELDA says no to
Marcos burial at “Libingan ng mga Bayani”
By SELDA
June 3, 2016
QUEZON CITY – Marie
Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson of Karapatan and SELDA (an organization of
former political detainees, mostly detained during the martial law
era) today called on President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to “be more
circumspect” on the issue of the burial of the former dictator
Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.
“The Marcos family has not
even apologized to the Filipino people for the plunder of the nation’s
coffers during in the more than 20 years that they were in power.
There is no remorse,” Hilao-Enriquez added.
“Burying Marcos, Sr. at the
Libingan ng mga Bayani is what the Marcos family wants the most for it
will pave the way to clear Marcos' name from the numerous human rights
violations he committed during Martical Law,” she said.
SELDA instead urged the
President-elect to order the GPH Claims Board to hasten the process of
recognition and indemnification of the martial law victims, which has
taken a longer time than what is stated by law. SELDA members
spearheaded the class suit filed against Ferdinand Sr. in Hawaii. The
plaintiffs succeeded in the court case as the Hawaii Federal Court,
and later the US Supreme Court found Marcos guilty of human rights
violations.
“We, families of victims
refuse to bow down to one family's desire to do what they like to do
just because they belong to a powerful few. Let it be remembered that
the Marcos family was kicked out by the Filipino people in 1986. That
they were able to come back to the country is more than enough. It’s
time to stop the haughtiness the Marcoses are displaying. They must
return all the money they stole from the national coffers and render
justice to the people they victimized.” Hilao-Enriquez concluded.
Hilao-Enriquez is among the
initiators of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to
Malacañang, which campaigned against the vice-presidential bid of
Bongbong Marcos.