US judge OKs fund distribution to Marcos victims

MANILA, Philippines — A United States district court judge has approved the distribution of some $10 million to victims of human rights abuses during the martial law period.

Judge Manuel Real, who handled the class suit filed by martial law victims in Hawaii, approved the distribution of $1,500 for each of the 6,500 claimants, an ABS-CBN report said, citing a statement from American human rights lawyer Robert Swift.

The report said Real’s approval came after he granted a $13.75-million settlement on the proceeds of seized paintings supposedly owner by former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos.

Swift said the distribution of checks to human rights victims would begin in six cities in Mindanao on May 1, with the rest to be distributed in other cities by July.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the body tasked to run after the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses, has yet to comment on the matter.

But in an interview in January, PCGG chairman Reynold Munsayac said the government was still reviewing the terms of the agreement on how to divide the proceeds from the paintings and other assets recovered from an aide of the former first lady. – Cecille Felipe Suerte