That
word punctuates the vocabulary of many today who believe that the atrocities
during the Marcos dictatorship should just be forgotten.
“Move
on!” is the twin partner of the hideous advice for Martial Law victims to suck
it up and live with the traumas of the past.
“Forgive”
and “Move on” are words used now as a blunt instrument to suppress protests
against the burial as national hero of Marcos, the ousted dictator, offender to
Martial Law victims, head honcho of global-scale cronyism, ignominious despot,
and disgraced liar!
It
would be disingenuous to say that Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga
Bayani merely as former President and soldier, two lofty positions that he
dishonored with abuse and corruption.
Libingan
is symbolic of honor and highest esteem for those who valiantly and selflessly
served country and people ahead of oneself, the definition of heroism.
Marcos’s
burial at Libingan is no ordinary event that merely inters a former President
and solider. It was meant to make him a hero and thus rehabilitate his place in
history by its blatant revisionism.
Marcos
doesn’t deserve this honor. It is vainglorious for his family to believe that
history would be kind in judging their discredited kin.
But
they get help from those (especially Christians) that now demand forgiveness,
in the name of healing and reconciliation, from Martial Law victims and the
nation as a whole that the dictatorship also victimized.
They
take inspiration from many admonitions in the Bible to forgive.
If
Christ forgave those who killed him, how can we not do the same to a despicable
despot, like Marcos?
Not
mentioned in this counsel is the wile and scheme that while we are busy
forgiving they will also bury him as a hero!
It
is true that Jesus called on his followers to forgive. It is a radical demand
with which we cannot trifle.
It
would be important to see its application for Christ’s followers amid the chaos
of the country we are in.
Forgiveness
is to take upon our own account the wrong committed by others against us. We
don’t retaliate against an offender. We offer the other cheek, if we get
slapped on the other. We don’t return the pain inflicted on us by our enemies.
The
biblical admonition to forgive allows for the highest expression of love.
We
love others to the point of death in imitation of Christ’s ultimate show of
love by accepting the violence of the cross. His death took upon his own
account the sins of others.
The
admonition to forgive is addressed to us to extend grace to those who have
offended us. It’s a call for us to wrestle with the demand of love through
forgiveness when we are the victims.
And
this is key: the admonition is directed to us. We cannot pontificate on
forgiveness by demanding others to forgive and avoid directing the admonition
to ourselves.
Even
if we have extended forgiveness already, we avoid pouncing on the heads of
those who haven’t. To do so would be arrogant, sanctimonious, and judgmental of
those whose shoes we don’t walk on.
We
should not use the call to forgive as a political instrument to silence the
expression of pain, and even of protest, of those that have been victimized and
whose grievances have yet to be redressed.
Society
cannot moralize on forgiveness and at the same time countenance victimhood
without paying a price.
Injustice
must be redressed that’s why we have structures like Rule of Law to prevent
abuse and impunity.
Without
justice and accountability for the victims, our society will not be aright and
we will all be losers for it.
Righteousness
(or, justice, if you will) is the end goal. Our collective pursuit of that goal
is declaration that despots would never ever be welcomed in our midst—much more
be treated as hero—to again inflict harm on the country.
To
attain righteousness, forgiveness is merely one side of the equation.
Righteousness requires not only forgiveness from the victims. Its other pillar
is contrition by the offender.
Forgiveness
and contrition lead to justice. Without one or the other, healing and
restoration will not occur.
Restorative
justice requires both elements. Much like in case of marital abuse, healing and
restoration will elude a marriage if the abuse remains even if the victim
forgives the abuser.
Those
who call on the victims to forgive the atrocities of the Marcos dictatorship
should equally demand contrition from the offender.
While
he is already dead, his family and heirs can do much to amend the wrongs he
committed. (By the way, his minions should also be made to account.) They can
start by returning his loot and redressing the grievances of the disappeared
and tortured during Martial Law.
For
our society to flourish, righteousness should reign.
To
achieve righteousness, we should call on all sides to do what is required of
them: for the victims to forgive, and for the offenders to show contrition and
offer reparation for the damages they have caused.
To
call on the victims to forgive but allow offenders to go scot free, and even to
be buried as hero, is to perpetuate evil and promote impunity and injustice.
When
we have achieved both forgiveness and contrition, then we move on.
