MANILA (UCAN): The burial on November 22 of former Philippine senator and Martial Law-era legal counsel, Juan Ponce Enrile, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani [Heroes’ Cemetery] sparked outrage among rights groups, who argue he does not deserve the honour due to his central role in the country’s Martial Law atrocities.
Enrile died at the age of 101 on November 13.
Rights activists argue that Enrile, seen as the chief architect of Martial Law—proclaimed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.—should not be honoured as a hero.
Marcos Sr., father of the current president, ruled the Philippines with an iron fist from 1965 to 1986 before his ouster in a public uprising. He is blamed for massive rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the embezzlement of billions of dollars of state funds.
“What should have been hallowed ground has long been demeaned and dirtied by liars and thieves. Pity a country that can’t distinguish heroes from scoundrels, though maybe this is exactly the kind of moment that forces a nation to check if its conscience is still alive somewhere under all that mud,” Fides Lim, spokesperson of Kapatid – Families and Friends of Political Prisoners, said on November 21.
Lawyer and activist Aaron Pedrosa described the burial as another act of “historical whitewashing” by the current regime.
What should have been hallowed ground has long been demeaned and dirtied by liars and thieves. Pity a country that can’t distinguish heroes from scoundrels, though maybe this is exactly the kind of moment that forces a nation to check if its conscience is still alive somewhere under all that mud
Fides Kim
He noted that the cemetery “has long been defiled with the burial of Marcos Sr.” whose remains were buried there despite opposition in 2016 during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. “Sadly, the Libingan ng mga Bayani will continue to be desecrated as long as the corrupt remain in political power,” Pedrosa added.
Jon Ivan Torreros, a leader from the National Union of Students of the Philippines, called the event “a shame to the Philippine government.”
Torreros said, “There is blood on his hands. Enrile should not be buried as a hero. A hero doesn’t kill civilians, the environment, and the nation. This is an injustice to his victims.”
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Pastor and rights defender, Irma Balaba, said the controversy over Enrile’s burial “is a painful reminder of how easily our history can be distorted.”
Balaba said, “The Libingan is meant for those whose lives genuinely uplifted the nation with integrity and selfless service. Given Enrile’s central involvement in the Martial Law regime — a period marked by grave human rights violations — his interment there does not reflect the values the place is supposed to honour.”
Bonifacio Ilagan, spokesperson of SELDA, a national organisation advocating for victims of human rights abuses and political detainees, said in a November 21 statement: “Under Enrile’s watch, up to 70,000 persons were arrested without warrant and detained without charges. Some 35,000 were tortured, more than 3,000 killed extrajudicially, and at least 700 forcibly disappeared.”
He added, “To his dying day, Enrile did not express a shred of remorse for these atrocities.”
Enrile’s daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile, insisted that her father was a national hero who “dedicated much of his life to the service of the Filipino people.”
