Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was an accomplished and well-decorated soldier of the US armed forces during World War II. He started his political career as a lawyer and was a member of both the Philippine House of Representatives and Senate, which he became the President of. Because of his great achievements and well-being, he became the President of the Philippines in 1965. As a president, Marcos ordered infrastructure construction and economic development which resulted in the first expressway in Southeast Asia. Not only that, but he was also known as a great planner and he was always prepared no matter what. Each and every one of his plans were carefully studied in order to be successful. During his presidential campaign, he was determined to win as he promised the people that he would. He won every election he was in which showed that he was a dedicated perfectionist. As a result, Ferdinand Marcos became Free Press’ Man of the Year in 1965. In Marcos’ second term as president, he gained a cult of personality, just like Stalin or Mao.
Presidents are only suppose to serve for two terms where each term is 4 years. Marcos wanted and can only serve for 8 years but he disobeyed the rules and insisted to be president once more. Proclaiming Martial Law in 1972, gave him twenty more years of dictatorship. Proclamation 1081 declared this law which stated that no media was allowed, weapons must be confiscated, curfews were given, and anyone who disobeyed the new rules were persecuted and killed. Martial Law built a new society for the Filipinos. Marcos changed his leadership abilities to the limit. During Martial Law, Marcos became an aristocratic leader. He thought that becoming stricter could just be a factor of a greater government for the Filipinos. He used the Philippine army as a weapon against anyone who ran against him and gave government positions to his close relatives. He appointed his wife, Imelda Marcos, to be member of Parliament, Governor of Manila and Minister of Human Settlements. His brother, Fabian Ver, was general and Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It was also rumored that he was the mastermind of the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983.
Due to Marcos’ deteriorating health caused by lupus erythematosus, he lost control of the government which made his family in command of the country’s political affairs. At the time of his recovery from a kidney transplant, Imelda Marcos and Fabian Ver carried out the killing of Senator Aquino in 1983. This was then the wake-up call the Filipinos were waiting for which finally led to the famous People Power of 1986 and Marcos’ oust from power and exile to Honolulu.
In September 28, 1989, Marcos died of multiple organ failure leaving behind the status as one of Asia’s most corrupt leader. Four years after his death in Hawaii, Marcos’ body in a coffin freezer preservative was brought back home to the Philippines. His family insisted to get him buried in the National’s Heroes Cemetery (Libingan ng mga Bayani) where obviously, heroes and martyrs are buried, but the government did not allow this and to this day his body is still in a cooled coffin in a mausoleum in his hometown, Batac, Ilocos Norte. From 1989-1993 in Hawaii and 1993-present in the Philippines, it has been exactly 20 years since he died and still unburied.
Should he or shouldn’t he be buried at the Heroes Cemetery, that is and that is the question. Because of Marcos’ crimes of human violations, assassinations, corruptions, and many more, the government of the Philippines refused to bury him at the National Heroes’ Cemetery. On the other hand, recent news says that Senator Manny Villar Jr. thinks that Marcos should be buried in the National Heroes’ Cemetery. He states that Marcos’ accomplishments should be seen in a positive view. Considering Marcos executed positive attitudes and works especially when he was a soldier, he should just be buried in the hero cemetery soon enough. Why exactly? Well, he is already a dead man, he won’t do any harm. Burying him would do more good and will put his soul to rest and maybe give the Filipino people peace of mind. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, and forgiveness is one of the greatest virtues the Catholic Church has taught. The Filipinos need to forgive Marcos but not necessarily forget what he did and leave the rest to the hands of God.
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