MANILA – The Supreme Court has extended the halt order it earlier handed down on the planned burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery).

The high court extended the status quo ante order (SQAO) up to October 18, 2016.

This means any planned burial will not be happening at least until the said date.

The high court Wednesday held its second round of oral arguments on the matter.

The petitioners in the case, who include victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law years, are opposing Marcos' burial at the hero's cemetery, saying allowing such will whitewash the late dictator's sins.

The Office of the Solicitor General, however, said President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to allow the burial was lawful.

A hero's burial will mark a high point in the Marcos family's political comeback, which was severely set back by the narrow loss of former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the vice presidential elections last May.

The late dictator's body was returned to the Philippines in 1993, four years after he died in exile in Hawaii. He was overthrown by a military-backed popular revolt in 1986.