Board gets 2-year extension to process Martial Law victims' claims

MANILA, Philippines - The Human Rights Victims' Claims Board, created to process the reparation claims of victims of rights abuse during the Marcos dictatorship, has been given until May 12, 2018 to resolve those claims.

According to the Philippine Information Agency, President Benigno Aquino III has signed Republic Act 10766 to extend the lifespan of the board so it can deliberate on and process 75,730 claims. Without the extension, the board would have ceased to exist by May 12, 2016.

Board chairperson Lina Sarmiento said in the PIA report that the HRVCB has already deliberated on 15 percent of the claims. In many cases, the board asks claimants to submit additional documents to support their claims.

“We need to identify spurious, fictitious and fraudulent claims,” she said.

Under the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act, which RA 10766 amends to extend the board's life, the board must circulate a preliminary list of claimants weekly for three consecutive weeks once all claims have been processed. Opposition to someone's inclusion on the list, or appeals for inclusion, can be filed before the board releases its final list.

Claimants in the final list will be paid from ill-gotten wealth that the government has recovered from the Marcoses and their cronies.

“It should be emphasized that the distribution of monetary reparations will be made simultaneously, at a given period, after all 75,730 applications are resolved,” Sarmiento said in the PIA report.

“We have no authority to make partial payments because the law requires that the computation of the value of reparations be based on the total number of points given, which we cannot determine prior to resolving all claims,” she also said.