AFTER THE sudden burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani on November 18 shocked the nation, several organizations of the Ateneo de Manila University have come out against the burial of the late dictator. The following is a list of stands made by Atenean organizations. It will be updated as soon as more organizations weigh in on the burial.
Ateneo de Manila University – University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ said the burial was “something only a dictator would do, in defiance of history, without regard for the exhaustion of judicial process, and in utter disrespect for those who suffered during martial rule.”
Ateneo Assembly – The Ateneo Assembly rejected the notion that the burial will help the country heal and encouraged the youth to “demand justice in all things.”
Ateneo EDGE – The sector-based cluster organization condemned historical revisionism in the teaching of Martial Law in schools.
Development Society of the Ateneo – “Burying the tyrant in a resting place reserved for heroes means burying with him the justice that the victims deserve to receive. This only makes our country’s wounds deeper,” said the organization.
Loyola Film Circle (LFC) – In response to President Duterte’s claim that there was “no movie about [the abuses of Martial Law],” LFC released a list of movies about martial law and encouraged its followers to do the same.
Ateneans with Amnesty International – Unaccredited human rights organization Ateneans with AI called out the “government’s lack of diligence in putting those who are responsible for committing grave human rights violations to account four decades after these took place.”
Ateneo Debate Society – ADS condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Supreme Court decision to allow the burial of Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Ateneo Entablado – “Huwag pabayaang maisama sa hukay ang alaala ng lahat ng mga taong lumaban para sa kalayaang ating tinatamasa (Let us not allow the memory of those who fought for the freedoms that we enjoyed to be buried alongside Marcos)”
Literary Society – Ateneo LitSoc called the burial an “insult to the thousands of Filipinos who were killed and tortured during the Martial Law era.”
Ateneo Association of Communication Majors – Ateneo ACOMM called on everyone to “further utilize social media platforms in raising awareness, opening up potential points for discourse, and in preventing the circulation of false accounts.
Baybayin – The organization called the late dictator a “mandarambong, magnanakaw, hindi bayani (Bandit, thief, not a hero).”
TUGON Ateneo – Sector-based cluster organization Tugon called on Filipinos to “empathize with the victims [of Martial Law] and respect their healing.”
Ateneo Blue Repertory – The theater group dedicated their November 18 show to the “to the Filipinos who were victims during the Marcos regime and the Martial Law era – to those who were affected, hurt, tortured, kidnapped, persecuted, raped, and murdered.”
Ateneo Management Engineering Association – Ateneo MEA is the first Business Cluster organization to condemn the Marcos burial.
Pre-Medical Society of Ateneo – The group called on the public to “be critical of such events [such as the Marcos burial] and continue to fight for justice and the truth.”
WriterSkill – Unaccredited organization WriterSkill pointed out that “this heritage of cruelty and revisionism that the Marcoses uphold must be addressed and put to an end.”
Ateneo Consultants for Organization Development and Empowerment (Ateneo CODE)– “Now, more than ever, not only the youth, but all Filipinos regardless of age, creed, economic status, and political ideology are called to respect every opinion, to uphold justice, and to fight for the truth.”
Ateneo Project for Asian and International Relations (APAIR) – “True peace for the Filipino nation cannot be achieved without the formal recognition of the heinous acts done by the Marcoses during Martial Law. National reconciliation demands that truth should be translated to justice.”
Heights Ateneo – The literary publication digitalized its folios from 1969 to 1989 in response to President Duterte’s statement on the lack of creative works during the Martial Law period.
Ateneo Mathematics Society (AMS) and Ateneo Statistics Circle (AStat) – The two released a joint statement calling for an “accurate representation of the facts and figures of the Martial Law era,” and issued infographics on the matter.
Ateneo Celadon – While the Chinese cultural organization acknowledged the mass citizenship afforded to Chinese immigrants by the Marcos administration, Celadon strongly condemned the burial of President Marcos in the LNMB for “the blatant violence, human rights violations, and corruption committed during his dictatorship.”
Ateneo Christian Life Community – The religious organization encouraged everyone to “trust in discernment as a tool for good and for seeking out the truth, and to be more sensitive to God’s voice in a time of mistrust and turmoil.
— Ateneo CLC (@AteneoCLC) November 30, 2016
Kythe-Ateneo – The organization called for healing that commemorates “the lives of those who are with us and we have lost along the way.”
