"A tectonic shift for the Supreme Court."

This is how former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares described reports that the SC has upheld President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to allow the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In an interview, Colmenares questioned why the high tribunal would buck a long history of decisions that described Marcos as a plunderer and human rights violator.

"How could the SC decide that a plunderer, human rights violator and dictator would be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani?" he asked in a DZMM interview.

Colmenares said critics will file a motion for reconsideration if it is true that the SC has allowed Marcos' burial at the heroes' cemetery.

He said activists will need to shift its focus to Malacanang and urge President Rodrigo Duterte to change his mind.

He said burying Marcos at the heroes' cemetery will not bring closure but will further inflame controversy.

"If he is buried, mawawalan ng saysay ang kasaysayan," he said.

Colmenares twitted Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos for saying that Marcos critics should "move on" and accept the court's decision.

"Bakit ang nadehado ang pinapagmove on?" he asked, adding that the Marcos camp has never admitted that it committed human rights violations during martial law.

He likened the situation to a rapist asking a rape victim to "move on" without acknowledging that a rape actually happened.

Marcos, who ruled as a dictator for 14 years, died in exile in the US in 1989, three years after a popular revolt ousted him from power.
Since his death, the Marcos family has pushed for a hero's burial for him, citing his accomplishments as a former soldier and president.

DZMM, November 8, 2016