MANILA — Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta said the country should move forward as he stood firm on the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) allowing the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) despite protests from victims of human rights violations during his term.
Peralta made the remark in response to the question of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) duirng the public interview for Chief Justice aspirants on whether the decision has really put closure between the grieving family of Marcos and those injured during the martial law years.
“I hope that issue has really been buried you honor, because if we do not bury that issue then we cannot move on and I still believe that whatever is the past we have to move on. We will not improve as a nation if we don’t do that,” said Peralta, who penned the decision on the case.
“That’s why I said, I put that as part of my ponencia, as a reminder to those who will read my decision that there is a need to move on. We cannot live on the past. We have to move on,” he added.
He also expressed belief that the decision has brought unity to the country, noting that those complaining before against the burial have become silent on the matter.
“We are now focused on issues confronting the nation. Unlike before the burial, I believe there were so many issues unresolved during those times,” he pointed out.
Peralta is the second most senior among the Supreme Court magistrates vying for the Chief Justice post – next to Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.
While citing seniority as important in choosing a Chief Justice, Peralta said it may not be the most important factor.
Peralta, meanwhile, said De Castro and his friend, Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, are both of them are capable and competent to lead the Supreme Court.
Peralta, a former Sandiganbayan presiding justice, was named to the High Court by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Jan. 13, 2009.
He served as Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 95 judge from 1994 to 2002.
He will retire in March 2022. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
