Pro-Marcos tweets: A minority during Luneta rally

MANILA, Philippines – On Sunday, August 14, the hashtags #MarcosBurial, #MarcosIsNotAHero, and #MarcosFakeHero trended on Twitter as the Luneta protest on Ferdinand Marcos’ planned burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani took place.

More than a thousand people gathered – from public figures to members of civil society organizations – to denounce the late strongman’s upcoming burial at a cemetery reserved for national heroes.

The number of tweets approximated the on-ground strength of the rally – and represented the strength of the voice coming from the camp that’s squarely against this year’s most controversial relocation. (IN PHOTOS: ‘Citizens’ assembly’ vs Marcos hero’s burial)

In spite of that, there were a few pockets of resistance here and there. Scrolling through the hashtags #MarcosBurial, #MarcosIsNotAHero, and #MarcosFakeHero, one would notice the occasional tweet proclaiming support for the transfer of the late dictator’s remains.

These are some of them, appearing in the lead-up to, during, or immediately after the “citizens’ assembly”:

He might be one of the worst but no one could be as good as him. Continue to hate him but where does it get you? #MarcosFakeHero #justsayin
— Dear CPA, (@cpadiaries) August 13, 2016

Wag ilibing si Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani pero ikulong nyo mga Aquino para fair. #AyawSaDilaw #MarcosPaRin
— Sherlock is CCC (@sugarnut221B) August 13, 2016

MarcosIsNotAHero daw . Si Ninoy nga nkalibing s LnmB di namn nging Pres. nor a soldier. A Traitor perse ! Bat nkalibing don??#MarcosBurial
— ailene bunuan (@AileneBunuan) August 14, 2016

Millennial Loyalist Here #MarcosBurial #MarcosPaRin #Loyalist #MarcosIsAHERO
— The Arcee Guimbal (@TheLegalPotatoe) August 12, 2016

FERDINAND MARCOS (Dictator) is better than AQUINO’s (Traitor). #MarcosBurial #MarcosPaRin #Bayani
— Maria Dianne Thrive (@m_thrive) August 10, 2016

@sandromarcos7 Can’t wait for the burial of Former Pres. Marcos! The Nation Builder. I’m hoping for a peace burial. #marcosparin
— Lovely Rizza Soloria (@zarri19) August 10, 2016

Let #mypresident rest! #bbm #libinganngmgabayani #marcosparin
— Joanna Sami Buquing (@joannasami) August 9, 2016

Balita ko konti lang pumunta dun sa Luneta para sa kampanyang #MarcosIsNotAHero

Kaya dinaan na lang sa trending… https://t.co/FvErq2zVrG
— Jomz Malaya (@joeromaramores) August 14, 2016

Looking through these tweets, the arguments appear to be hinged on Marcos supposedly being a better leader for the Philippines than the late Ninoy Aquino; that Marcos has done a lot for the nation with one post tagging him a “nation builder”; and general anti-Aquino notions.

Under the hashtags, there was no definitive pro-Marcos tweet that got considerable Twitter approval.

More pro-Marcos tweets can be found under “#MarcosPaRin,” which had already been in use before the Luneta protest but slightly recorded more activity than usual during the rally.

#MarcosPaRin:

Sigurado ba kayo na Bayani lahat ng nakalibing sa Libingan ng mga Bayani? meron din mga traydor sa bayan na nakalibing diyan #MARCOSPARIN
— Drei♕ (@TheDreiG) August 15, 2016

ang tunay na magnanakaw sa bansa
pinoy nasan ang pera ng yolanda?#marcos #marcosparin pic.twitter.com/OdiMnQgdZX
— Martial Law (@PopoyLucas) August 15, 2016