Panelo: 'Marcos victims deserve payment'

MANILA, Philippines — Victims of human rights violations during martial law deserve to be compensated for their suffering, Malacañang said yesterday, even as the Office of the Solicitor General claimed that the proposed settlement would be “grossly disadvantageous” to the government.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the victims should receive compensation commensurate to their suffering.

“I’m sure there must have been victims during critical times. There will certainly be abuses committed in whatever regime that the governor or the president would not know about,” Panelo said at a press briefing. 

“And just the same, if there are victims of violation of human rights, certainly they should be compensated,” he added. 

But Panelo said it would be natural for a government to fight back against those who seek to harm its forces. 

“It would be different if you  are an enemy of the government... If you kill people in government, you cannot say that you are a victim. If you want to kill the soldiers of the government and then they retaliate. But those caught in the crossfire can be considered victims,” he said. 

Panelo said he has not talked to Solicitor General Jose Calida about his opinion on the compensation for martial law victims. 

“I do not know exactly the grounds for the opposition of this solicitor general. I have to know that before I can make a proper intelligent response,” he said. 

Support Marcos victims

Victims of human rights violations during the martial law regime have asked President Duterte to support and recognize the upcoming fund distribution to members of the successful $2-billion class suit filed against the Marcos family in Hawaii.

Loretta Ann Rosales, former chair of the Commission on Human Rights, said it is in the best interest of the victims if the government would provide support such as security during the distribution that will begin next month.

“I cannot understand and imagine why the government should not support a ruling, a foreign judgment that is actually helping the poor,” Rosales, herself a victim of human rights violation during the dictatorship, told The STAR in a phone interview on Thursday.

Zenaida Mique, executive director of Claimants 1081 that will help in the distribution, said they do not expect challenges in the upcoming distribution.

However, she noted the opposition of the OSG on the settlement agreement that divided some $20-million worth of ill-gotten assets by the Marcoses recovered in the United States.

The agreement, which was affirmed by a New York federal judge on Tuesday, would provide $13.75 million to members of the class action, translating to about $1,500 to each of the estimated 6,500 members.

“We trust that the Philippine government will honor the ruling,” Mique told The STAR. “We call on President Duterte to support the distribution.”

Rosales said most of the members of the class action are already old and in dire need of assistance.

“A compassionate government should be more than willing to protect and make sure that this distribution goes though very smoothly. This is exactly what these poor people need,” she said, referring to the martial law victims.

“The fears (that something may prevent the distribution) are always there and we should be ready for the worst. But we can always appeal to the government to be compassionate,” added Rosales.

Disadvantageous

The OSG earlier claimed that the settlement agreement, which the government initially agreed upon, is “grossly disadvantageous” to the Philippines.

It said that the government will pursue its claim to all of the assets through pending cases in the Sandiganbayan.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) yesterday said that American lawyer Robert Swift might have been more concerned about getting his attorney’s fees than helping his clients obtain their share of the $30-million sales of paintings allegedly owned by former first lady Imelda Marcos.  

The OSG late yesterday issued a statement reacting to a news report on ABS-CBN quoting Smith, counsel of the marital law victims, as saying that the OSG and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) were foolish to block him from distributing next month $10 million to 6,500 human rights victims of former president Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law regime.  

But in a hearing last Tuesday, New York district court judge Katherine Polk Failla affirmed the settlement and ordered the release of the $13.75-million share of the martial law victims.

Swift said Failla found that the Philippine attorney in New York “had actual and apparent authority to bind the Republic to the settlement.”

The settlement agreement stemmed from negotiations conducted by various parties, including the victims and the Philippine government, on how to divide the proceeds from the sale of the paintings seized from Vilma Bautista, an aide of former first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos. 

In the agreement, the victims will receive $13.75 million while the government will get $4 million.

A third party, the Golden Buddha Corp. and the estate of Roger Roxas that allegedly discovered the Yamashita treasure, would also get a portion of the proceeds.

Swift said the share of the class action members would be transferred to the settlement account created following the successful litigation of the case in Hawaii in 1995.

He will facilitate the distribution of the checks, with the support of Claimants 1081, starting May 1 in Butuan followed by sequential distributions in 15 other cities until July.