By Chito Chavez

A group of former political prisoners in the country has strongly supported the filing of a bill that will amend the law for the recognition and reparation of martial law victims under the Marcos dictatorship.

The Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) has pushed for the passage of Bayan Muna partylist’s proposal amending Republic Act (RA) 10368, titled the “New Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2019″.

SELDA said the reopening of the processing and distribution of claims was a must since “many martial law victims were not compensated and denied recognition and reparation after the Human Rights Victims Claims Board has ceased to exist on May 12, 2018, as stated in RA 10368.”

“The bill is aimed at recognizing and providing recognition not just legitimate claimants who were subsequently denied by the board, but also martial law victims who were not able to apply, but should have been “conclusively presumed” as victims being members of the Hawaii class suit which successfully won the case against the estate of the late dictator Marcos in 1986,” said Danilo dela Fuente, SELDA vice chairperson.

While there were many positive provisions in RA 10368, SELDA said “there were also problematic provisions including the appointment and selection of the members of the Human Rights Victims Claims Board, the additional qualification for victims who should have been conclusively presumed and thereby automatically recognized as victims being members of the Hawaii class suit, and sources of funds of the board for operations’’ which the group asserted should come from the national budget.

“We also reiterate that we are pushing not just for compensation but most importantly, recognition of martial law victims. We are not just for claims, as the Marcoses would claim,” he added.

The amended bill proposes for the formation of a Human Rights Violation Victims Recognition and Reparation Board (HRVVRRB) that will handle the recognition and reparation of victims.

The amended bill will also give consideration to denied claimants to appeal on their indemnification, except those that are proven fraudulent or fake. It will also allow the next of kin of claimants to claim indemnification, for victims who are already deceased or incapacitated, have severe illness and threat to life and security.

“We believe that the amended bill, when approved, will be more inclusive especially for the claimants who were members of the Hawaii class suit, and therefore already recognized as victims but were not able to file within the specified period. This is in recognition of the difficulties that martial law victims were confronted with in their application of claims,” said dela Fuente.