Heroes' Cemetery

Heroes' Cemetery Libingan ng mga Bayani
Philippines
National Military Cemetery
Used for those deceased
Established	May 1947
Location	14°31′12″N 121°02′39″E / 14.51989°N 121.04422°E / 14.51989; 121.04422 near Taguig City, Philippines

Heroes' Cemetery, also officially known as Libingan ng mga Bayani in Tagalog, is a national cemetery within Fort Bonifacio (formerly the American Fort William McKinley) in Western Bicutan, Taguig City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.

It was established as a fitting resting place for Filipino military personnel from privates to generals, as well as heroes and martyrs. Among those buried in the cemetery are most of the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor from 1 January – 6 May 1942, and the battlefields of the Allied Liberation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. It also contains the national Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is established as the Filipino counterpart to Manila American Cemetery and Memorial which houses the remains of United States personnel that died in World War II.^[1]

It was first established on May 1947 as the Republic Memorial Cemetery. It was then renamed to its current name on 27 October 1954 by President Ramon Magsaysay.^[2]

Philippine presidents Carlos P. Garcia and Diosdado Macapagal, vice presidents Arturo Tolentino and Salvador H. Laurel, National Heros and generals Artemio Ricarte and Carlos P. Romulo, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes, and senator Blas Ople are also buried in the cemetery.

On the cemetery's entrance it is written: "I do not know the dignity of his birth, but I do know the glory of his death."

In 2006, the cemetery's council started exploring alternative sites for annexes in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Only one has been completed so far, the P24-million, five-hectare extension at Camp Hernandez in Dingle, Iloilo.^[3]

Internment policy

According Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Regulation The Allocation of Cemetery Plots at the LNMB issued on 9 April 1986 by former AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Fidel V. Ramos and President Corazon C. Aquino, along with members of the military, the following persons entitled to be interred at Heroes' Cemetery:^[4]

• Medal of Valor awardees
• The presidents of the Philippines as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• The secretaries of National Defense
• Veterans of the Philippine Revolution of 1896, the First and Second World Wars, as well as recognized guerrillas
• Government dignitaries, statesmen, national artists and other deceased persons whose interment has been approved by the commander-in-chief, Congress or the Secretary of National Defense, and
• Widows of former presidents.

However, those who were dishonorably separated, reverted, or discharged from the service, and those who were convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude cannot be buried at the cemetery.

National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines

Republic Act 289 or An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes, and Patriots of the Country created the Board on National Pantheon. The law was enacted on 16 June 1948.^[5] However, such a pantheon has yet to be erected.^[6]

References

Additional citations

External links

• Official webpage from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office
• Romulo D. Quemado II, Corps Notes, Philippine Marine Corps (archived from the original on 2008-02-13)
• "Libingan ng mga Bayani (Cemetery of the Heroes)". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2009-06-16.  (coordinates)

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