MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau), UPDATING – Sometime in 2015, the publisher and editorial board of The Adobo Chronicles visited the Mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Norte where the supposed body of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos was encased in a refrigerated glass coffin for adoring fans to view and pay homage to.

We could not take photos or videos of the coffin which was perched up an elevated platform, surrounded by stanchions because it was prohibited. It was dark inside the room, except for the lights that illuminated the glass coffin. It was cold, but not necessarily because the room (or the coffin) was refrigerated. It was more like regular airconditioning for the comfort of visitors. Well at least that’s what we think. (In the hottest month of the year, Batac’s temperature averages at 84 degrees farenheit (29 degrees celsius).

So after our visit to the Mausoleum, we concluded that what we saw was a wax model of Marcos’ body, similar to those we’ve seen in Hollywood’s wax museum.

Fast forward to 2016: the remains of Marcos were buried in Libingan Ng Mga Bayani, surprising many.  

Because the ceremonies were off-limits to the media, the only evidence of the “burial” are the photos and video provided by the family.

Looking at the photos,  it is obvious that it wasn’t a full size casket which contained the remains. Which begs the question: who did the Marcos family bury in LNMB?

We can only speculate and here are some of our theories:

1. The casket contained just the skeletal bones of Marcos.  He has been dead for almost 28 years, so if he had been previously buried underground, only the bones now remain.

2. Was the embalmed Marcos in the Batac mausoleum only a wax figure, as we concluded in 2015?

3.  If the Marcos body displayed at the mausoleum was his real remains, then how come the casket used at LNMB was unusually tiny in size?

4. Is it also possible that the casket used at LNMB was actually empty and that the “burial” was mostly symbolic?

Are the protests barking at the wrong tree (wrong casket, wrong remains), or will it turn out that the protests are merely symbolic?

Wherever he is, Marcos must be turning in his grave. But which grave?