FORGIVENESS AND JUSTICE ARE TWO DIFFERENT VIRTUES

By Bayawanon

FORGIVENESS and JUSTICE are two different virtues, the human rights victims may have moved on and have FORGIVEN Ferdinand Edralin Marcos for the atrocities he had committed during his reign as virtual strongman of the Philippines for twenty (20) years, but there must be JUSTICE, and I believe that denying him to be buried at the LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI is part of justice, after all he is not a hero.

Yes as Christians, we must and should forgive our enemies but it does not mean that we don't have to seek for retribution of the violations of our enemies. Our legal system was founded by our authorities to seek and find justice, why not make use of it? Majority of our historians would tell us that indeed Marcos had sinned against the Filipino people, as Christians we are mandated by the teachings of the church to forgive, but does that mean that we have to simply let him go for the faults he had committed against the people?

The Filipino people cannot let him go to jail since after three (3) years he left office by way of that "PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION' he died, can you let a dead man go to court and face the criminal charges filed against him when he was still alive? Because of this JUSTICE is very elusive for the human rights victims. Now, the government had decide to give him a hero's burial and indeed he was successfully buried by supporters two days ago, is this the JUSTICE that the human rights victims are waiting from the government?

It is true that Marcos can be qualified to be given a HERO'S BURIAL on three grounds to wit: 1) That he was a President; 2)That he was a soldier and 3) That he was a Medal of Valor Awardee, but these facts were superseded by a supervening event and that is the human rights violations he committed in his incumbency as the undisputed national leader of the Philippines specifically from 1972-1986. On those years plenty were killed and plenty went missing because of political reasons and he was responsible for those happenings for it happened because of his MARTIAL RULE, now can the burial of Marcos would give JUSTICE to the victims of human rights or would simply give honor to his family who is asking it for years?