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YOU AND THE LAW BY RAUL J. PALABRICA
BARRING last minute hitches, the 13-year struggle for compensation by some 10,000 victims of human rights abuses during the martial law years will soon come to a
fruitful end.
The Marcos family has agreed to set aside $150 million of their Swiss bank account held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank to satisfy the claim for damages by
the human rights victims. The arrangement still has to be approved by the Sandiganbayan, Supreme Court and President Estrada. Judging from the earlier pronouncements
of the President on the matter, it is a certainty that he will give his go signal to the settlement scheme. The two courts are expected to concur with the President's
action.
It's been a long and tedious fight for justice by the victims. The waiting period has seen many of them succumb to death from natural causes or injuries suffered in
the hands of agents of the martial law regime. They "died without seeing the dawn break."
What started as a suntok sa buwan, as the Filipino lawyers described their suit against the Marcoses, may go down in history as the first successful action for
damages against a dictator. A precedent has been set that government leaders who engage in or abet the commission of human rights abuses, or do not take steps to
prevent the commission of such acts, can be held liable for damages to the victims of those abuses.
Too bad, Ferdinand Marcos was not around to hear or read about the judgment of the US court holding him responsible for human rights abuses during his reign. He was
spared the humiliating experience of setting the example in the punishment of petty tyrants or dictators who exploit their own people to satisfy their material
caprices. With that court ruling, the man who was so conscious about his place in history, to the point to making up or distorting events to put himself in a good light,
joined the company of Idi Amin, Baby Doc Duvalier, Gen. Augusto Pinochet and other disgraced leaders.
Unrepentant as their father, the Marcos heirs are not inclined to apologize to the human rights victims in spite of their agreement to the settlement of the latter's
claims. Apparently, Ilocos Norte Gov. Bongbong Marcos still believes the lie spread by his father that martial law was the best thing that ever happened to this
country.
Ego, pride and politics stand out as the reasons behind the refusal of the Marcos heirs to even acknowledge the commission of human rights violations during their
father's authoritarian rule. They, who once controlled the lives and properties of Filipinos, find it below their dignity to ask for forgiveness from their former
"subjects." Worse, an apology, whether sincere or made tongue in cheek, could be used against them by their political enemies in future electoral contests.
Nothing short of a direct commandment from God will make any of the present generation of the Marcoses seek forgiveness for the sins committed by their patriarch.
Even if the Marcoses refuse to come clean about the sins of their father, the fact that they agreed to give $150 million (which is actually spare change compared to
the billions of dollars they have allegedly stowed elsewhere) to the human rights victims constitutes an indirect admission that human rights violations were indeed
committed by agents of the martial law administration.
How else will such agreement be construed but an admission of acts of torture, salvaging and illegal arrests by elements of the military and police committed in
furtherance of the authoritarian objectives of the late strongman? Though no words to that effect were uttered by the Marcos representatives who signed the
settlement agreement, their action clearly show they have admitted to the truth of the victims' claims.
Otherwise, if the Marcoses honestly believe they have nothing to apologize for or be sorry about the human rights abuses imputed to their father, then they would have
vigorously resisted any move to enter into the settlement arrangement. They could play hardball with the victims and make life miserable for them. The $750 million
Marcos money held in escrow by the PNB cannot be touched by anybody unless certain strict procedural requirements are complied with by the government.
Considering their political and financial clout, it is only a matter of time that the criminal and civil cases the Marcoses face at present will be dismissed by the
Ombudsman or Sandiganbayan for insufficiency of evidence or prescription (or failure to prosecute the case within the prescribed period). With those cases out of the
way, claiming back the money in escrow will be a piece of cake.
The Marcos apology issue can be attended to at a later date. For the time being, it is essential that the consent of President Estrada, the Sandiganbayan and Supreme
Court to the settlement agreement be secured as soon as possible before some wise guy comes up with a scheme that may derail its implementation The compensation
checks should be immediately distributed to the human rights claimants before death or serious illnesses overtake them. In these difficult times, the $16,000 that each of
them is expected to receive will go a long way in easing their financial problems The amount may not fully compensate them for their sufferings but it is better than
nothing.
In due time, the expression of remorse the victims are demanding from the Marcoses will come. It may not come from the widow or children of the late strongman because
ego, pride and politics prevent them from doing so. But that should not prevent a Marcos grandchild, who may be made of a better stuff and wants to make a clean
break from the bloody past that his or her family has been associated with, from performing that cleansing act of humility.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 1, 1999
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