Manila                                                                                                                                                                                          08 Aug. 2018 

Malacañang on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court’s affirmation of its earlier decision allowing the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), saying it is now time to unite and move forward towards nation building.

“We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all legal questions. We hope the matter on the Marcos burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani will finally be laid to rest, and that the country will move forward as one united nation working for a comfortable life for all, law and order, and lasting peace,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement sent to reporters.

The SC on Tuesday, voting 10-5, upheld its ruling junking petitions against the burial of Marcos at the LNMB, as it junked separate motions for reconsideration (MR) that sought to overturn its decision.

The high court junked the MRs “with finality,” as it affirmed its Nov. 8, 2016 ruling.

No reason was given for the denial of the reconsideration pleas filed by several petitioners, including former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

Those who voted in the majority are Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, the magistrate who penned the ruling, and Associate Justices Prebitero Velasco, Jr., Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Samuel Martires, Noel Tijam, and Andres Reyes, Jr.

Like in its first ruling, the dissenters were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza, and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.