While the Philippine Supreme Court temporarily stopped the hero's burial for the late president Ferdinand Marcos, these Filipino-Americans are hoping the deposed dictator will never be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Various Filipino organizations in New York are coming together for a worldwide protest on September 7 to convince President Rodrigo Duterte to change his mind about the planned hero's burial for Marcos.

“We want President Duterte to hear from us, Filipinos in the Philippines and Filipino overseas that burying a dictator, Martial Law enactor…How can he be called a hero?," said Loida Nicolas Lewis, of US Pinoys for Good Governance.

"Therefore it is an insult for all of us right-thinking people to those who have died and who are in Libingan ng mga Bayani,” she added.

Duterte said Marcos, a former president and a soldier, must be accorded a hero's burial because "it is the law.” But these Filipinos point out that a military regulation states that those who have been dishonorably discharged from service or personnel convicted of an offense are not qualified for interment.

“Marcos who was a dictator, he had many people killed, who stole our sovereign wealth, there should be no burial of him in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, or Hero's burial because Marcos is not a hero,” said Lewis.

Among those planning to speak at the September 7 protest are survivors of Martial Law.

Linda Oalican of Damayan said more than 50,000 people who were critical of the Marcoses ended up in jail, while some even ended up dead.

“It's an established fact na pag-nagsalita ka noon, you will be arrested, most probably walang judicial process, you will be imprisoned and kung hindi ka sinuswerte, mawawala ka na lang so we don't want that to ever happen again [If you're not lucky, you'll go missing],” she said.

“Pero yung kawalan mo ng Kalayaan, yung kawalan ng karapatan magsalita, pinaka importante yun ang mga tao hindi pwede maging bansa kung walang boses [Losing our freedom means losing our voice as a nation],” added Ninotchka Rosca, a Martial Law survivor.

Lewis says the September 7 global protest will be held in front of Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide at 12 noon their local time.

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