Top secret burial: Bato, NCRPO chief in the know

MANILA, Philippines - The instructions were issued only on Thursday night: over 5,000 members of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) would be part of the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) teams.

Several of them said they were not informed of their specific task –to secure the burial of Ferdinand Marcos the next day at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The source said the instruction for police deployment came from NCRPO director Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, who served as ground commander, while Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario was his assistant ground commander.

Albayalde said the burial was held in confidentiality as requested by the family and that it was decided during his meeting with Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos on Thursday.

He said “the ceremony was solemn” and “not a single soul” was able to show up to disturb the peace at the burial site.

The NCRPO did not have to deal with anti-Marcos protests during the clandestine burial and declared it “peaceful and orderly.”

But this did not last as he later on announced that anti-riot squads of the NCRPO were placed on full alert due to the expected series of protest rallies by anti-Marcos forces yesterday and in the coming days.

There were also conflicting statements about the burial from officials.

“The PNP (Philippine National Police) leadership had nothing to do with the burial. The Marcos family was directly coordinating with the NCRPO,” another source told The STAR.

The source said the 5,000 CDM members started to arrive as early as 1 a.m. at the Philippine Army grandstand. The policemen stayed at the Army headquarters for several hours and waited for instructions from their higher-ups.

The burial rites were set at the same time that suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa was brought back to the country from Dubai, apparently to divert the attention of the media.

Journalists waited overnight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City and at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City for the arrival of Espinosa.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa held a press conference at Camp Crame early yesterday morning.

Another ranking police officer said all PNP personnel deployed as CDM were instructed to strictly adhere to human rights in the event the burial caught the attention of media, protesters and the public.

“Maximum tolerance should be observed even when the rallyists agitate us. Avoid being agitated,” stated the memorandum given to the CDM members.

“Maintain the peace at all cost. Arrest those who will disturb the peace. Good luck and long live the Philippines,” the memorandum read.

Effort to hide

Some observers claimed the NCRPO connived with the Marcos family in hiding the burial from the public and media.

“Albayalde and the 5,000 policemen get their salaries from the public, why hide it from the nation?” an observer said.

Even some policemen who were directed to be part of the CDM were not informed about their real task.

“We were directed to report for duty to our district headquarters at 12 a.m. on Friday. We were then instructed to board police trucks that brought us to the Philippine Army headquarters. There was no clear (order as to) what we were going to do there,” a police officer 1 (PO1) said.

The PO1 added they were virtually blinded by their superiors on the purpose of their deployment.

The STAR got wind of the “secret burial” at around 5 a.m. yesterday from a reliable source.

Not a hero

Albayalde said they were prepared to deal with protest actions against the Marcos burial and that they would allow anti-Marcos protest rallies anywhere in Metro Manila even if organizers could not show permits issued by the local government units (LGUs).

“We will allow them to shout their hearts out as long as they are not violating any law, especially on traffic, and not destroying private and government property,” he said.

Albayalde directed Senior Supt. Eleazar Matta, NCRPO intelligence chief, to coordinate with anti-Marcos leaders to establish ground rules on their protest rallies to prevent an outbreak of violence and avoid casualties.

He also urged rally leaders to police their ranks to prevent instigators from taking advantage of the situation.

Earlier, while the funeral ceremony was ongoing, a confrontation occurred between Marcos supporters and critics, including young people.

Rey Sandy Abayan, a Marcos critic, said he was “greatly saddened” by what he called an act of dishonesty of the Marcos family and also of the government when he was buried, even if the SC decision on his burial was not yet final.

“Clearly, this does not follow the rule of law. This move by the family of Marcos and the administration truly proves that Marcos is no hero,” Abayan said. 

“The burial is intended to honor the late president. However, is he really honored by this dirty tactic?” he added. 

But Marcos supporters said that the anti-Marcos groups, especially the young ones, should just accept the decision of the SC and open themselves to “national healing.” 

Danylie Condes, a Marcos supporter, argued that the former president deserved a hero’s burial. She pointed out that “not all that’s worrying in history were facts.”

Original plan: Burial on National Heroes Day

Before the confirmation of the burial, a source from the Armed Forces of the Philippines said the burial was set secretly on National Heroes Day on Nov. 30 and not yesterday.

However, the AFP staff learned that National Heroes Day had been moved to every fourth Monday of August. Nov. 30 remains Andres Bonifacio Day.

Another source said the AFP gave notice to all concerned about the burial late Thursday.

Albayalde said the remains of the late strongman were intered at 12:30 p.m. with his family and a handful of relatives in attendance.

A 21-gun salute was rendered for the late strongman as well as a flower drop.

At least 2,000 police and military personnel were deployed outside and inside the cemetery to prevent intruders from sneaking in and disturbing the solemn ceremony in accordance with the wishes of the former dictator’s family, he said. – Robertzon Ramirez