So the Marcos Loyalists finally have their day . After waiting 27 years . To all our brother Ilocanos - my Dad is an Ilocano by the way , though not a Marcos fan - you have my genuine respect on this auspicious occasion when your Apo Lakay is finally laid to rest . Well played .

I thought that the Marcos burial issue was not a legal question but a political one , and therefore , it ’ s the President ’ s call . He decides and he called it . Quite courageous , I might add , considering the exuberance of emotion surrounding this issue . It ’ s not surprising really since Pres . Duterte said as much in his campaign

rhetoric . We should have expected this .

But the anti-Marcos group brought the matter to the Supreme Court , and the shock is , the Bench ruled 9 v . 5 to allow the burial of Pres . Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan . That should have ended the discussion , even if there ’ s a Motion for Reconsideration . Because if the anti-Marcos group can ’ t accept a Supreme Court decision , then what “ rule of law ” are we talking about ?

The clear thing with democracy is , you don ’ t always get what you want , and you have to live with it .

I get it that Pres . Marcos is a dictator and a plunderer . I even stood in People Power EDSA in 1986 for four days to protest a g a i n s t

that .

But having said that , I realize this too : the fact that the Marcoses were exiled and not executed , that they were allowed to return , eventually run for office and re-establish their political clout after Edsa also shows how ambivalent our society is to the dictatorship and the atrocities they claim .

But this issue is not the same .

This issue is not about justice , not about change . It ’ s about entitlement . And pride .

The pro-Marcos group believe their Apo Lakay is entitled to a burial at Libingan and about regaining their pride . The anti-Marcos group think only their opinion is correct and this burial is about their loss of pride too .

The burial itself was not even one fit for heroes . Too austere and simple . Definitely not heroic or joyful . It was like the family also just wanted to get it over with . The opposition describes it as “ like a thief in the night .”

But really , would they have wanted it the other way ? A short parade and a 21-gun salute just doesn ’ t cut it for a hero ’ s burial .

It ’ s not even a question of allowing the burial so we can all “ move on .” I mean if we haven ’ t really moved on after 1986 , it ’ s probably too late . And if the Marcos victims weren ’ t able to claim their idea of justice in 27 years , they ’ ll probably never get it . And probably never forgive either .

At the end of the day , the damned burial is a non issue . Our opinion of Pres . Marcos won ’ t and shouldn ’ t change depending on where he is buried . Honestly , it became such a small deal to me after finding out that even some Marcos generals are buried there .

People are worried about what future generations will think . I ’ ve always believed that the future will take care of itself , inspite of what we do or think today . The dictator died and after 27 years he was buried . Easy enough to

explain .

In another time and place , they would have cut off his head with a guillotine . Or brought him at the back of the courthouse and just shot him there . Now that would been interesting .

Someone said that “ even if you park a jeepney in Jay Leno ’ s garage , it doesn ’ t

( Mr . Atencio has twenty three years of experience in the Housing Sector , with the last fifteen years as Chairman , President and CEO of various mass housing and subdivision development companies .

As President and CEO of 8990 Housing Development Corporation ( 8990HDC ), Mr Atencio led the company to exponential growth from P180 millon in gross reveneus in 2003 to P8 Billion in 2014 , delivering more than 34,000 homes in the past 12 years with a goal to deliver at least 10,000 homes annually moving forward . 8990HDC listed in the Philippine Stock Echange in 2013 , making it the first and only mass housing company to become public in the last 20 years . Also , was recognized as the 2nd Best Mid-Cap Stock by Finance Asia for 2015 , and received the 2015 Top Ten Developer Award from BCI-Asia . )