Netizens oppose Marcos burial with black profile photos, #OccupyLNMB

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos outraged by the Supreme Court (SC) decision to allow a hero’s burial for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos are making their voices heard in various cities and in cyberspace.

On Tuesday, November 8, some Facebook and Twitter users began turning their profile photos pitch-black to protest the decision.

Other profile photos had the text, “Bayan ko, binihag ka, nasadlak sa dusa,” from the song “Bayan Ko.” (My country, you have been enslaved, plunged into despair.)

One celebrity, Bianca Gonzalez, not only turned her profile picture black, but also tweeted during one of the rallies, saying, “Hindi namin binabale-wala ang kalayaan na meron kami ngayon na ipinaglaban ng mga nauna sa atin. #NeverForget.”

(We’re not taking for granted the freedom that we have now, which the older generation fought for.)

Hindi namin binabale-wala ang kalayaan na meron kami ngayon na ipinaglaban ng mga nauna sa atin. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/R1QCiXtkVi

— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) November 8, 2016

 

Another form of a digital protest is a page called airlnb (Air Libingan ng mga Bangkay), a parody of the online accommodations marketplace airbnb.

“Depressed that Ferdinand Marcos is still not buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani? We have lots and lots of other burial places for him to choose from! Book from our wide array of awesome listings here at air Libingan Ng mga Bangkay,” the spoof website reads.

Herbert Hernandez created the website a few days before the SC decision came out. 

There was also at least one anonymous protester who decided to take the matter to Wikipedia.

He or she turned the Libingan ng mga Bayani page on Wikipedia into the “Libingan ng mga Bayani at Isang Magnanakaw” page.

In other words, it became the Heroes’ and a Thief’s Cemetery.  

The page’s edits included a line which reads, “A dictator and thief, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos is scheduled to be buried there, putting into question the symbolic integrity of the cemetery.”  

While the page has already been restored as of this writing, below is a screenshot of the edited entry.

An event called #OccupyLNMB, meanwhile, has been created on Facebook. So far, hundreds have selected the “going” option, while more than 1,900 are “interested.”

Facebook user Herbie Docena also began a call for a human barricade to block the burial.

 

While the SC said Marcos was not pure evil, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas denounced the decision to allow a hero’s burial for the late dictator, calling it “an insult to the EDSA spirit.”

Have you shown your approval or disapproval of the SC decision? Share it with us in the comments below or write about it on X. – Rappler.com