THE Supreme Court (SC) has put the last nail on the coffin and finally laid to rest the issue on exhuming the body of former president Ferdinand Marcos from Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) when it denied with finality motions for reconsideration on the transfer and burial of his remains elsewhere, a Supreme Court source privy to the draft of the decision told The Manila Times. SC spokesman Theodore O. Te at that time said “even if there is a 15-day period (to file motions for reconsideration from receipt of the copy of the decision), there was no order restraining the act,” the transfer of the remains from Marcos’ hometown in Batac City, Ilocos Norte to the LNMB. The entire nation was caught by surprise when the remains of Marcos were flown from Ilocos Norte to the LNMB for his burial despite the fact that the high tribunal ruling on November 8, 2016 was not final and still the subject of a motion for reconsideration that was within the mandatory 15-day period to appeal the high court’s decision. (READ: TIMELINE: The Marcos burial controversy)

The 5 justices who dissented the first time remain the dissenters in the new decision: Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza, and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa. Newly-appointed Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr voted in favor of the Marcos burial, joining Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta (ponente), Presbitero Velasco Jr, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Teresita de Castro, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Noel Tijam, and Samuel Martires. READ: SC puts last nail on coffin against transfer of Marcos remains out of ‘Libingan’

“We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all legal questions,” Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. "We hope the matter on the Ferdinand Marcos - 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," Abella added. President Rodrigo Duterte on August 7, 2016 ordered Marcos' burial at the Heroes' Cemetery, prompting the Philippine Army to start its preparations amid pending petitions of martial law victims at the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of the Philippines has junked all petitions against the burial of former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, re-affirming its earlier ruling on 8 November 2016.