Like other campus publications and members of the press, Atenews, a 61-year-old publication, was silenced, violated, and harassed under the Marcos Regime. Atenews was just among the thousands of Martial Law victims who were illegally murdered, tortured, and imprisoned while the Marcoses enjoyed billions of ill-gotten wealth they amassed from the people. No achievements nor storied contributions of Marcos could outweigh the amount of injustices he brought to our country.
Atenews believes that to bury a dictator like Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is an insult both to the victims of the Martial Law and to the genuine heroes buried in the said cemetery. We would not allow this symbolic place to be stained by the decays of a mass murderer. We cannot imagine the future generation being misled by a burial that a dictator does not deserve.
We are urging Pres. Duterte to change his decision and recognize the woes of the Martial Law victims and groups who condemn the said burial. There is no way we can move on from an ugly past by glorifying the individual who started it. As Harriet Jacobs said, "There are wrongs which even the grave does not bury."
We will never forget. Marcos is NOT a hero.
