9,539, not 6,000.
SELDA (Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto) challenged the Benigno Aquino- appointed Human Rights Victims Claims Board to categorically and publicly state that it recognizes the 9,539 martial law victims as those covered by “conclusive presumption” under the RA 10368, the Human Rights Victims Recognition and Reparation Law. The more than 9,000 victims and the 24 direct action plaintiffs were those who filed and won the class action suit filed in a Hawaii court against former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos.
9,539, not 6,000.
SELDA (Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto) challenged the Benigno Aquino- appointed Human Rights Victims Claims Board to categorically and publicly state that it recognizes the 9,539 martial law victims as those covered by “conclusive presumption” under the RA 10368, the Human Rights Victims Recognition and Reparation Law. The more than 9,000 victims and the 24 direct action plaintiffs were those who filed and won the class action suit filed in a Hawaii court against former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos.
SELDA underscored the importance of such public announcement by the BS Aquino Claims Board because more than 2,000 Hawaii court-recognized victims were ignored and unable to claim indemnification in the last two settlement agreements prior to the passing of RA 10368.
“They are referred to as “delisted” victims, their names having been arbitrarily dropped from the original list of more than 9,500. Their number seems to be increasing from more than 2,000 in 2012 to 3,000 this year,” said Jigs Clamor, national coordinator of SELDA.
SELDA’s concern stems from the silence of the RA 10368’s Implementing Rules and Regulations on who are considered under the ‘conclusive presumption’ clause. “SELDA recommended that the IRR should cover the 9,539 class action and 24 direct action plaintiffs. But, these were ignored,” Clamor added.
The 9,539 were recognized as the legitimate martial law victims, along with the 24 direct action plaintiffs after the original list submitted to the Hawaii Court was validated by a Special Masters’ Review in 1994.
“But, in the past three weeks since the Aquino Claims Board began processing claims, it has not yet shown the official list that bears the name of the 9,539 ML victims and the 24 direct action plaintiffs recognized by the Hawaii court,” Clamor said.
Some of the delisted victims include Ka Satur Ocampo, the author of the indemnification bill. Also among the delisted well-known ML activists are playwright Bonifacio Ilagan, Tatalon mass leader Carmencita “Ka Miling” Florentino, Bayan Chair Dr. Carol Araullo, journalist and writer Pete Lacaba and former UP Faculty Regent Dr. Judy Taguiwalo,
“The delisted victims would also like to go over the original Hawaii Court master list to show that they are in fact listed and have their claim numbers. This is a public record that the BS Aquino Claims Board should make available,” said Clamor.
“People who have valiantly suffered much under martial law don’t want to beg nor waste their time. They do not have to prove anew that they were ML victims. It will be another injustice and a violation of the victims’ rights if thousands of them are delisted and required to file as new claimants,” he added.
Ocampo and Araullo, with Rep. Neri Colmenares, earlier filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court to annul the appointment of Ret. General Lina Sarmiento as chair of the BS Aquino Claims Board for failing to meet the criteria set by the law. The petition stated, “… the appointment of a Chairperson of the Board who belongs to an institution whose predecessor, the Philippine Constabulary, is part of the machinery that has wreaked havoc and terror on the lives of countless activists not only negates the clear intention of RA10368 itself but altogether puts the integrity of the entire Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board in question.”
“We want the martial law victims to be recognized, not just monetarily, but historically. That is the most important,” Clamor concluded.