Rights group urges Senate to pass 'compensation bill'

MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of Martial Law victims from Central Luzon and Manila on Wednesday gathered at the Senate grounds while the bicameral conference committee deliberated upon the Marcos victims’ compensation bill for the third time.

 

"We hope that they finish discussing the bill today. We also urge them to stand by with provisions that recognize all legitimate victims, including the ‘conclusive presumption’ provision of the House version of the bill," Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of rights group Selda, said.

 

The "conclusive presumption" provision recognizes that the 9,539 victims, including the 24 direct action plaintiffs who filed and won the historic class suit of Martial Law victims against the Marcoses in 1986 are legitimate rights victims that must be automatically considered as such under the proposed Philippine law.  

 

"They have gone through the tedious process of proving that they are victims under a competent court and must not be made to go through a grueling process again of relating their sufferings under the law; they have done so in the Hawaii court  already," Enriquez said.

 

She added that the provision shall also encourage other victims who were not part of the class suit to surface.

 

The rights groups said played down fears that fake claimants may take the place of genuine victims because the bill has a number of mechanisms to avoid this.

 

One of the safety nets would be to involve the organizations of victims and other organizations that documented and assisted the victims in their struggle for justice, Selda noted.

 

The group said it believes that a final version of the proposed law will be ironed out by the bicameral committee in the last meeting as the bill has been promised by the President to be marked a priority bill.

 

President Aquino even promised the president of Switzerland that a law on the victims’ indemnification is forthcoming, the group added.