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Authenticated by Ramon Casiple, Acting Secretary General, Claimants 1081, Inc.
Claimants 1081 president Ruben Resus warns of possible miscarriage of justice due to the signing of the GRP-NDF human rights agreement by President Estrada. He
pointed out that "the ambiguous Article 5 of the agreement lends itself to a possible misinterpretation that may jeopardize the hard-won victory of the Marcos human
rights victims."
Article 5 of the GRP-NDF agreement recognizes the possible settlement of the claim against the Marcos Estate outside of the US court processes which is handling the human
rights litigation. It also opens the possibility of misrepresentation and anomaly in recognizing special powers of attorney given to lawyers not recognized by the
court. The human rights claimants and their lawyer, Atty. Robert Swift, had already protested to then President Ramos, the PCGG, and the government peace panel on
this apparent undermining of the human rights claim contained in the agreement.
Mr. Resus said, "We welcome President Estrada's pronouncement that his adrninistration will address the human rights claim. However, we call on him to make a
categorical statement of his intention to recognize the legitimacy of the human rights class suit and to respect the court processes that govern it. This will ensure
the clear interpretation of Article 5 of the GRP-NDF agreement."
Mr. Resus warns of political maneuvers, including the campaign for special powers of attorney, by the CPP-NDF and their bogus human rights organizations which claim to
represent the human rights claimants. These desperate maneuvers are designed to confuse the public and bamboozle the government into derailing any settlement on the
human rights claim. They aim to worm into the negotiation process and force the US district court to recognize their own counsel in place of Atty. Swift, who is the
court-appointed lead counsel for the class suit embers.
He also said, "President Estrada should be forewarned of these maneuvers. We want President Estrada's peace process to succeed. But it should not be at the expense of
the human rights claimants."
Mr. Resus reiterated the recommendation for President Estrada to publicly announce his support to a settlement with the victims of the Marcos human rights violations,
specifically to the payment ofUS$l50M from the PNB escrow account. He appeals to the president to encourage the Marcos family to confirm their agreement to settle,
as publicly announced by Ms. Imelda Marcos last April 24,1998.
August 11, 1998
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