Exclusive - Lipa's Archbishop To Marcos Burial Detractors: 'Not godly to dwell on hate, let's pray for his soul instead'

Ramon Arguelles, the Archbishop of Lipa City, urged people who have been raging over the Marcos burial at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani last November 18 to stop the hate and pray for the late president and dictator’s soul instead.

The archbishop said in an interview with Radio Veritas that the memory of EDSA won't fade and people should just learn lessons from Marcos’ Martial Law regime.

“Sabi raw na wala na yung spirit of EDSA ako hindi nawawala iyan, pero ang pagtitiwala sa Diyos ang nawawala. Kung tayo ay maka – Diyos kahit na iyan ay diktador basta patay na iyan. Pagdasal natin ang kaluluwa niya ang katawan niya igalang natin,” he said.

The EDSA revolution was the catalyst for the end of Ferdinand Marcos’ 2 decade long regime and many believe that its essence was tarnished when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of burying the dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“Nagkasala siya. Hindi natin sasabihin na mabuti ang ginawa niya pero huwag naman natin siyang kamuhian ngayong patay na siya,” he added.

Dwelling on hatred will only cause Filipinos harm, according to him.

“Paano, napakasama ng ginagawa natin sa kalayaan na ipinaglaban natin. ‘Yun ang mahirap. Sa akin, we get what we deserve. Because we don’t try our best na talagang i-value ‘yung freedom na ipinaglaban natin,” he said.

His sentiments completely gloss over the fact that the Marcoses have yet to relinquish their ill-gotten gains, leaving our country deep in debt many years after Martial Law has ended.