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49 Durian St, Project 2 Quezon City
Tels. No. 436-0516 /912-4005
Press Statement
February 27, 1999
We in Claimants 1081, on behalf of our 3,000 member-claimants, today welcome the news of the provisional approval by Judge Manuel Real of the Hawaii Federal District Court
of the $150 million settlement agreement. The agreement is between, the human rights claimants, represented by our lead counsel, Atty. Robert Swift, and the Marcos
Estate represented by Ms. Imelda Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
It is a definite and historic step towards justice and the eventual indemnification for Marcos human rights victims. The settlement agreement essentially represents an
explicit admission by the Marcos family of the liability of former president and dictator Marcos for the human rights crimes of forced disappearance, summary
execution, and torture committed against the 9,539 Filipino citizens and class suit members.
We give our heartfelt thanks to our counsels, Attys. Robert Swift, Rodrigo Domingo, Jr., Sherry Broder, and Ruben Fruto; our legal consultants, Attys. Rene Saguisag and
former Rep. Edcel Lagman; the human rights community, particularly the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Families of Victims of Involuntary
Disappearance (FIND) and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TTDP); and friends and supporters who, at one time or another, provided timely and effective help.
We also note the role of officers and members of the SELDA who have contributed to the prosecution of the case, particularly in the early stages.
We also recognize and give our thanks to President Joseph Estrada and his administration for their support in the last stages of the case. We hope that the government
continues to provide consistent support necessary to ensure the indemnification of the Marcos human rights victims.
We salute the Filipino people for the successful struggle against the Marcos dictatorship and the regaining of the lost freedoms. Our own struggle for justice will not have
advanced without the people's support.
We are aware however that the Marcos family is trying to scuttle or downgrade the value of the settlement agreement through last-minute maneuvers. In a maneuver reminiscent
of the midnight proclamation of martial rule, Imelda Marcos and Bongbong Marcos, as representative of the Marcos Estate, unilaterally inserted into the final
agreement various provisions portraying the innocence of the entire family, including the dictator Marcos of human rights violations.
The most notorious of these insertions is in Section 5.2, the article on the satisfaction of the civil class suit, whose second up to the last sentences are additions
claiming that, generally, Imelda Marcos, Imee Marcos-Manotoc, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Irene Marcos-Araneta "have not been charged anywhere in the world with
human rights violations but are released."
These insertions have no bearing on the substance of the agreement, on the case, nor on other cases, Particularly criminal cases, that may be brought against the Marcoses.
We human rights claimants, for our part, are not in any position to release the Marcoses. The settlement only releases the Marcos estate, which is the defendant in
our class suit, from the civil damage claim The criminal liability of martial rule instigators and their minions, including those among the Marcoses, remains.
The aforesaid insertions therefore are irrelevant and immaterial to the settlement agreement and the treacherous manner by which they were inserted by the Marcoses,
guarantees their rejection. We therefore support Atty. Swift in his refusal to sign the specific pages of the settlement where these insertions occurred.
We cannot but see in the Marcos trickery the futile attempt by a discredited family to reverse the judgement of history on the father. The Marcos family has not exactly
been known for honesty, transparency, or humbleness. We recall Bongbong Marcos' arrogant yet futile attempt to accuse human rights victims of greed and sneer at the
achievements of EDSA. It Is no surprise to us if the family, even this late in the game, tries some more tricks to wriggle out of the settlement.
In the light of the diatribes of Bongbong Marcos against us, we Marcos human rights claimants have no recourse but to be vigilant and protective of the results of the class
suit. The whole process regarding the satisfaction of the human rights claim is not yet over. A lot may still happen between now and the actual payment of damages to
individual human rights victims.
We have already asked the US Federal District Court and Judge Manuel Real, through Atty. Swift, to strike out the unilateral insertions made by the Marcoses in the
settlement agreement. We will never permit the Marcos family to denigrate the human rights class suit nor the Marcos human rights victims. We will never permit them
to erase the guilty verdict of history on Ferdinand Marcos, the late -and unlamented dictator. The quest for full justice for Marcos human rights victims is not yet
finished.
For the Board of Directors,
(signed) Ruben Resus
President
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