Video docu produced by the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy. Script Writer: Mila D. Aguilar. Executive Producer: Marc Titus Cebreros. Editing and Sound Design: Miko Aguilar. Uploaded with permission of CHRP ED Cebreros.
Indispensable to the production were Resurrection ‘Tition’ Lao, Associate Executive Producer, who served as punong abala all throughout; CHR regular employee Lorraine Cacatian, without whose assistance with CHR finance the project could not have pushed through; Hilda Narciso, Researcher, whose long-standing ties with ex-detainees were key to getting to more victims; Dhon Ventura, whose camera work captured hidden emotions exceedingly well, and the Human Rights Victims Claims Board, without whose mutual cooperation with the CHR the unknown victims would not have surfaced.
The Commission on Audit instructs the Bureau of Treasury to engage the services of a reputable appraiser to determine the value of the discovered items
MANILA, Philippines – State auditors discovered two gold watches bearing the faces of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda along with a collection of millions of pesos worth of diamonds, silver, and foreign currencies in a neglected vault of the Bureau of Treasury (BTr).
The Commission on Audit (COA) report released in May did not identify the original owners of the items although the diamonds – worth at least a P2 million (US$44,883*) – were listed in the treasury books as “escheated items.” It means they are valuable objects that reverted to the ownership of the state either because there is no valid claimant, or because of an owner’s failure to pay fees.
Up to 166 pieces of silver one-peso coins, 412 pieces of various foreign currencies, and two gold pens were also discovered. They were listed as “other assets – arts, archaeological specimen and other exhibits.”
“These items were never appraised nor recorded in the BTr’s books since they were surrendered to the BTr resulting to the understatement of the total assets reflected in the Financial Statements,” said COA.
Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years until February 1986, when he was ousted in the EDSA People Power Revolution, a bloodless revolution that forced the dictator out of Malacañang, and into exile.
Decades later, his family made a comeback in Philippine politics. His son and namesake is a senator, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. His wife Imelda is Ilocos Norte representative while daughter Imee is the governor of the same province.
COA instructed the treasury to engage the services of a reputable appraiser to determine the value of the coins. The appraisal of the diamonds, which were last checked in 2008, also need updating.
COA was also concerned that the vault that stored the valuable items was in a room rented out to the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG. The person that is supposedly in charge of the vault is holding office in another building, putting the items at risk of being lost.
The items also need to be insured with the Government Service Insurance System to protect government interest in the event of loss, theft or damage, COA added.
“To date, there is still no appraisal conducted for the diamonds and other valuable items and these were not insured in compliance with AO 33 dated August 27, 1987,” COA said. – Rappler.com
MANILA, Philippines – Even descendants of national hero Jose Rizal did not escape the alleged human rights violations committed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Members of the Rizal clan, led by the only surviving grandson of the national hero’s brother Paciano, yesterday called on the government to return some 600 hectares of land allegedly “grabbed” from them by the Marcos administration.
“Like Dr. Jose Rizal who was persecuted by the Spaniards in the past, we his descendants also feel the same way,” Jose Rizal Lopez told The STAR.
Lopez, now 91, led his nieces and nephews in the filing before the Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB) of a claim to be recognized as victims of the Marcoses.
The HRVCB was created last year to give recognition and reparation for victims of gross human rights violations during the Marcos regime.
According to the hero’s descendants, recognition of their status as human rights victims of Marcos could be used as basis for a legal claim to recover their properties currently under the administration of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB), Laguna.
The Rizal clan noted that Presidential Decree 457, signed by Marcos in 1974, authorized UPLB administrators to acquire certain properties by negotiated sale or expropriation for the expansion of agricultural research programs.
The decree covered several land titles of heirs of Rizal’s siblings Paciano, Olympia, Lucia, Maria and Soledad, which total 600 hectares.
The price of the property was set at P1.25 per square meter, which Lopez said was way below the market value of P10/sqm at the time.
“Considering the political situation during martial law… my siblings and I felt coerced and were forced to sell the subject properties against our will at an unreasonable price,” Lopez said in his affidavit.
“The government also ignored the value of the fruit-bearing trees on my properties. This made me feel that my properties were forcibly taken over without just compensation,” he added.
Prior to the issuance of the decree, Lopez said a representative from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) tried to convince their family to lease some parts of their property.
But he said the meetings did not bear fruit due to unanswered questions over tenants who might lose their jobs upon the lease of property.
Lopez said he was taken aback when he received a letter from UPLB informing him that his properties were chosen for the expansion of an agricultural program.
“The letter suggested that I cooperate wholeheartedly by selling my properties to the government even if I had no intention or any need to sell,” he said.
“I felt very much intimidated and bullied. UPLB and IRRI, through the government, was after my entire inheritance from my grandfather which was not for sale,” he added.
The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board has extended the period for martial law victims to file their file claim for reparation and recognition
This is an announcement from Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board.
MANILA, Philippines – Pursuant to Joint Resolution No. 03 of the Congress of the Philippines approved by the President on February 17, 2015, and after due publication of the same in the Official Gazette on March 23, 2015, the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board through HRVCB Resolution No. 003-2015 sets the extension of the period to file applications by human rights violations victims (HRVVs) during Martial Law.
TO COMMENCE ON APRIL 8, 2015.
TO TERMINATE ON MAY 30, 2015.
Reminders:
1. Personal filing is required. Applications cannot be accepted by mail.
2. Submission of notarized statement narrating the human rights violation together with supporting documents and/or notarized statement of 2 persons with personal knowledge of the violation plus 2 government issued IDs and/or Birth Certificate/Marriage Certificate/Death Certificate as the case may be.
3. Scheduled filing of applications. No walk-ins. Please call the HRVCB offices in UP ISSI Building Diliman Quezon City or the HRVCB Regional Desks located in Regional Offices of the Commission on Human Rights for the proper schedule. You can also email us at [email protected]
4. Acknowledgment Receipt with the photo and signature of the applicant who filed the application will be issued. This does not automatically entitle the victim to reparation or recognition. This is just a proof of acceptance of the application. The validity of all claims shall be decided upon by the Divisions of the Board.
6. Failure to file application within the said period is deemed a waiver of the right to file claim for reparation and recognition under Republic Act No. 10368.
7. For more information, please visit our official website at www.hrvclaimsboard.gov.ph or contact us at 0999-505-9737, (02) 373-4847 or (02) 533-1872.
‘It is only with such a record and awareness of its contents that misinformation regarding the purportedly idyllic conditions prevalent during the Marcos regime can be effectively dispelled’
The Philippines commemorated yet another anniversary of the People Power Revolution which ousted President Ferdinand Marcos from power on February 25, 1986. It appears, however, that 29 years later, any collective memory the Filipino people have of the abuses carried out by the Marcos regime during martial law is in danger of being extinguished.
The Marcos family has long been back in power, and even highly educated Filipinos deny that abuses were committed and wax nostalgic about how peaceful and orderly the country was during martial law. Such pro-Marcos sentiment will only become more palpable as the 2016 elections draw closer.
My uncle Enrique Voltaire Garcia II spoke out against the abuses of the Marcos administration. He was a prominent student leader at the University of the Philippines and a promising lawyer elected as a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention.
When martial law was declared, he was arrested along with opposition leaders, journalists and activists, including Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. Voltaire was eventually placed under house arrest. He was prohibited from traveling to the US to undergo required treatment for his leukemia. A few months after his house arrest was lifted, Voltaire succumbed to leukemia at the all-too-young age of 30. I had not yet been born.
Martial law abuses
There is a need for a comprehensive record of martial law abuses. The creation of an institution tasked with recording victims’ accounts of the mistreatment they underwent during martial law was not a priority. Instead, the immediate concern was the recovery of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), a constitutional body with a broad mandate but limited powers, has only recently begun compiling interviews of martial law victims and materials from that period for preservation and commemoration. It plans to display these documents in a future Martial Law Museum. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) maintains its own Museum of Courage and Resistance, containing 6,000 thoroughly documented cases of human rights violations during the martial law era.
Amnesty International documented incidents of torture to detainees during the initial 4 years of martial law. While these initiatives from both public and private sectors are to be lauded, it is nevertheless lamentable that these efforts were not undertaken as soon as practicable after the ouster of the Marcos regime, with government funding and support.
In contrast to the Philippines, commissions of inquiry or truth and reconciliation commissions have been established in countries recovering from civil war, such as Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia; or those emerging from decades of oppression under apartheid, like in the case of South Africa.
The UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council created numerous commissions of inquiry at the international level to document and investigate rights violations of international humanitarian law in various states. These bodies have, to varying degrees, enabled the countries concerned to move on from difficult periods in their history and rebuild themselves, or in the countries where conflict persists, to at least establish an accurate record of past and ongoing abuses, and to provide leads to investigators for eventual prosecutions.
MARTIAL LAW. For almost 13 years since martial law was imposed, the Philippines suffered terribly from the brutal and corrupt Marcos dictatorship.
Legal initiatives
In 1994, a US court in the case of Hilao v. Estate of Marcos (Hilao) found the estate of President Marcos liable for torture, enforced disappearances and summary executions during the martial law era, resulting in a landmark jury award totalling around $2 billion or P90 billion. This decision was affirmed on appeal.
Republic Act No. 10368, otherwise known as the “Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013,” was enacted in February 2013, providing the mechanism through which more than P10 billion accrued interest will be distributed to victims of human rights violations committed during martial law.
This law lays down a conclusive presumption that the nearly 10,000 class action Hilao plaintiffs and those recognized by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation are victims. A Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board is established which can grant individuals the status of victims eligible for compensation. The law also mandates the creation, under the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, of a compendium of the suffering endured by the victims. This commission is to also coordinate with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to ensure that school curricula incorporate lessons on martial law abuses and their victims.
Record of abuses
One hopes that the various initiatives detailed above succeed in compiling an accurate and publicly accessible historical record despite the passage of time and the fading of memories. In addition to documenting victims’ suffering, this record should highlight the efforts of the brave men and women such as Voltaire who had spoken out against tyranny and oppression in spite of the grave risks their activism posed.
This record should be integrated into school curricula in a thoughtful manner, ensuring that future generations take the lessons learned from such record to heart. It is only with such a record and awareness of its contents that misinformation regarding the purportedly idyllic conditions prevalent during the Marcos regime can be effectively dispelled.
The Philippines must learn from the mistakes of the past, and not simply attempt to forget and repress them like bad memories. Only by fully acknowledging this dark chapter in our history can we hope to avoid subjecting ourselves anew to such oppression in the name of peace and order, and to become a truly great, prosperous, and democratic nation.
Similar presidential and parliamentary snap polls have resulted in a change in leadership, while others have solidified the incumbent’s hold on power
MANILA, Philippines – 29 years ago, on February 7, 1986, a housewife went up against a dictator in a snap presidential election.
Faced with mounting pressure here and abroad, then president Ferdinand Marcos called for the snap polls to prove that he still had the support of Filipinos.
Corazon “Cory” Aquino, wife of assassinated senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr, heeded public clamor and challenged Marcos for the presidency.
The strongman had been president since 1965 – from 1972 to 1981, the Philippines was under Martial Law, and it was a time when Marcos assumed near-absolute power. In June 1981, he won a fresh 6-year mandate in a lopsided election boycotted by the opposition.
The snap polls in 1986 were marred by reports of cheating, violence, and disenfranchisement of voters. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared Marcos the victor, but the National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said Aquino was the real winner, based on its own quick count.
The 1986 snap election was a turning point in Philippine history. What transpired two weeks later marked the end of the Marcos regime and the ascension of Aquino to the presidency via a peaceful People Power Revolution.
Similar presidential snap polls have recently taken place in other parts of the world. Some resulted in a change in leadership, as what happened in the Philippines in 1986, while others solidified the incumbent’s hold on power.
Similar presidential and parliamentary snap polls have resulted in a change in leadership, while others have solidified the incumbent’s hold on power
This was the second early election called by Rajapaksa, who became president in 2005. He was seeking a third term following a constitutional amendment removing the two-term limit for presidents.
(In Sri Lanka, presidents have 6-year terms, but they can call an early or snap election after the 4th year. Rajapaska was re-elected in the snap polls he called in 2010.)
This time, his opponent was former health minister Maithripala Sirisena, who defected from the ruling party led by Rajapaksa, and stood as the main opposition candidate.
The incumbent Rajapaska was known for ending a decades-long conflict with the rebel Tamil Tigers in 2009, but critics said he has failed to bring about reconciliation with the Tamil minority since then. He was also hounded by allegations of corruption.
ncumbent: Mikheil Saakashvili Challengers: Levan Gachechiladze and 5 others
Saakashvili, the lead figure in widespread protests in 2003 dubbed the “Rose Revolution”, became president of the former Soviet republic after the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze. He overwhelmingly won a 5-year term in the January 2004 elections.
The peaceful protests that year turned violent shortly after the government declared a state of emergency. Saakashvili then called for a snap presidential election, set for January 2008.
Saakashvili survived the polls, garnering nearly 55% of the votes. He defeated fellow “Rose Revolution” participant Levan Gachechiladze, the candidate of the opposition coalition, and 5 other candidates.
Saakashvili’s second term ended in November 2013. He was barred from seeking a third term.
Parliamentary snap polls
Snap elections are normally held in countries with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government. The prime minister (PM) or president dissolves parliament and calls for new elections, usually to garner political advantage in settling national issues.
In December 2014, Japan went through an election two years ahead of schedule. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called for it, so he could delay a scheduled consumption tax hike, following a series of weak economic indicators. Abe’s party was triumphant in the snap polls.
Greece also held snap elections on January 25, 2015, a month after parliament failed to elect a new president as required by its constitution.
Other notable snap polls were those that took place in Thailand in April 2006, France in May to June 1997, and New Zealand in July 1984.
Opposition parties boycotted the 2006 snap polls in Thailand, giving then PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his party a landslide victory in parliament. But the constitutional court annulled the election results and called for new polls. Shortly thereafter, Thaksin was ousted in a military coup.
On the other hand, in France and New Zealand, the ruling parties suffered. French President Jacques Chirac’s strategy to defeat left-wing opposition parties by calling the 1997 snap legislative polls backfired.
Meanwhile, the 1984 New Zealand snap polls led to the victory of the opposition Labor Party and the defeat of then prime minister Robert Muldoon and the National Party.
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