Group: Claims Board making it hard for Martial Law victims

MANILA, Philippines - The Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB) has been making it difficult for rights victims during the martial law years, requiring them to produce documents that are "unnecessary and outrageous," a group of former political detainees said Tuesday.

 

SELDA Chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez, martial law victim and daughter of the lead plaintiff against the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, expressed disgust and raise concerns over the Board's system of application for reparation and recognition.

 

 "I have personally witnessed the process of application in the regions of Panay, Bicol and very recently in Southern Mindanao. It is arbitrary, chaotic, inconsistent and most of all, anti-victim," she said.  

 

Enriquez said she will not be filing for her claim under the law that their group fought hard for.

 

The HRVCB said it is expecting at least 20,000 applicants to be recognized as victims during the martial law.

 

However, during the past three months of regional on-site intake operations, the claims board is still not thoroughly prepared to receive applications, Enriquez said.

 

"They didn't consider what difficulties the martial law victims may encounter who have to travel from the far-flung barrios just to apply personally within the limited days of regional on-site intake operations of the claims board. The claims board asked for too many requirements from the victims, many of which were outright unnecessary and even outrageous. The victims are made to line up without any of the so-called respect that should have been accorded them. Biktima na nga, pinapahirapan pa," Enriquez said.

 

She said the unnecessary requirements include birth certificates from the direct martial law victims, presentation of two government-issued Identification cards which is not indicated in the claims board application, and original release papers for those illegally detained.

 

"Does the claims board realize that we are talking about martial law, that military power took over civilian institutions? How do you expect the victims, many of them are farmers and ordinary people to acquire such documents? How could they ask for release papers when these were not available amid rampant illegal arrests and detention?” Enriquez added. 

 

She said martial law victims demand the claims board to produce the list of 9,539 victims plus 24 direct action plaintiffs for conclusively presumed victims.

 

 If the list of conclusively presumed has been produced at the very beginning, class action suit members need not go back to square one in their application for reparation and recognition. They only have to prove their identity, Enriquez said.

 

“We are demanding that just recognition and reparation be given to the victims. The Aquino government should be warned not to disenfranchise victims more by violating the law which we fought for to be passed and implemented. We ousted a dictator who denied the people of their rights. We can do that again now given the same grounds,” she said.