About the Marcos Burial and my floorwax proposal

I don't know the charter of the Libingan ng mga Bayani, but if there's a sectionfor 

presidents, then presidents must have been buried there. Why put it there if it's not for presidents

 in the first place?

I’m thinking about the Marcos Libingan ng Mga Bayani burial issue...

The issue has been taken into the Supreme Court by the anti-Marcos groups. It’s the court now that will decide whether the burial have legal impediments or none.

Those who have suffered under the Marcos regime are asserting that Ferdie is not a hero; he’s a despot. They are fighting tooth and nails to have Marcos denied the honor of being interred along with the heroes of the republic to the Libingan ng mga Bayani. For them, a burial in Libingan ng mga Bayani erases the Marcos atrocities and even elevates him to a hero status.

Knock, knock, are you still there Ferdie?

On the other side are the Marcos supporters who looked upon Marcos as the best president that the Philippines ever had, even a hero. Marcos to them is a liberator and a protector. His presidency is the golden age of the Republic. They cite his infrastructure projects as living monuments of his visions and to them the martial law was a blessing because it saved the country from the communists. They reminisce of the Maharlika Era.

Madam Toussad's fire damaged wax figures.

The country is divided between the two opposing sides. Though I don't know which has the number, it cannot be denied that a lot of Filipinos still regard Ferdie in a positive light. That's why President Duterte once proposed a plebiscite to decide whether the former president deserves a hero's burial. I have a feeling that the pro-Marcos may have the number and could eventually win the election, if ever it's pushed through.

Of course there's more to it than a legal or numbers battle. The anti-Marcos group are insisting that this is most of all a moral issue. This makes me ask who determines what is moral or not? History? 

History is written by the winners.

History is always subject to revision and re-interpretation depending on the availability of new research, documents, findings, studies, evidence etc. and most of all by who is in power. 

What is hero? (Here we go...)

In ancient time a hero is someone or a warrior selected among the many to represent a nation, or tribe to fight on their behalf against an opposing army's champion, usually this battle is to the death. They are the champions known for their prowess and military skills.

Loser!

Heroes are mythologized to the point of adoration and even worshiped as deities. Their deeds are immortalized as legends and epic stories. Monuments are built for them and holidays are named after them. But they are not all virtue for their most important characteristic is bravery and a wanton disregard for life, their own and for their enemies. Honesty, integrity, humility, these are not their stuffs. They win battles by treachery and deceit; they defeat their enemies by wounding them, killing them, destroying them. Human rights, respect to life, battles and wars do not know these. Heroes win battles and wars with blood and not with oratories and philosophical meanderings. (I think the Philippines is the only country in the world with a nerd for a national hero and not a front line warrior-leader. that's why I believe Bonifacio should have been the national hero or at least he should have been given equal footing with Dr. Rizal.)

Unfortunately, for the loser, they are forever portrayed in the story as the evil nemesis of the hero. They are portrayed as monsters, half man, half beast possessing dangerous powers and magic, immortalized as the epitome of evil. 

It's just wax for heaven's sake.

This is what happened to Marcos. Although it can be said that he didn't lose and he could have fight it out with the EDSA rallyists and could've won easily, but instead he capitulated and ceded Malacanang to the Yellow Army and the Aquinos and from that time on Philippine history has been viewed through yellowed lens. 

I am not saying Marcos is a hero or a good president, but the way his name is anathematized in schools through  textbooks and the catechism like question and answer surveys about the EDSA revolution seemed to have this nasty purpose of mythologizing Benigno Aquino into a super national hero.  

Anyway, If ever the pro-Marcos would lose the case in the Supreme Court, they could always change tact and argue that they are not burying Ferdinand Marcos. Instead they could ask the Supreme Court's permission to retire Madame Tussauds' Marcos wax figure in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. It's been thirty years and whatever Marcos organic substance left in that wax shell has long since been de-atomized.