1st batch of 7,600 Marcos rights victims get $1,000 each

MANILA, Philippines - Twelve of the more than 7,600 human rights victims during the more than 20-year regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos were handed their $1,000 compensation in an emotional ceremony yesterday morning at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

The victims, who are eligible to get a share of the $10-million compromise settlement with the heirs of the late Filipino-Chinese businessman Jose Yao Campos in connection with a claim they filed on lands in Texas and Colorado, were both sad about the memories evoked by their long-awaited compensation for human rights violations they or their loved ones suffered and angry at the resurgence of the Marcoses in public office.

Retired Air Force colonel Nilo Olegario Sr., whose son Nilo Jr. was among the thousands who disappeared during martial law, said, “I feel bad that they (Marcoses) have returned to power, considering what they have done to us and the countless victims of human rights violations during that period. But what can I do? This is a free country.”

Olegario’s son was only 27 when he disappeared.

“I would gladly exchange this money for my son. Up to now, we still feel the pain, especially my wife,” Olegario said, adding that they still hold celebrations every Feb. 14 for his son’s birthday.

Another martial law victim, Fe Mangahas, was teary-eyed as she recounted the torture she endured in the hands of security forces.

A professor at the Far Eastern University (FEU) during martial rule, Mangahas said she suffered a miscarriage of her first baby as a result of the torture inflicted on her during her detention.

She said the amount they received yesterday symbolized the suffering that they have endured in their difficult battle to get justice.

Veteran film director Joel Lamangan, meantime, said the Marcoses should be prosecuted for the crimes that they have committed.

“This is a victory but the fight has to go on. Yes, I want the Marcoses to be prosecuted but the problem is the justice system here in the country is defective,” said Lamangan, who was 17 years old and a student activist when he was detained and tortured.

Cecilia Lagman accepted the compensation on behalf of her son, lawyer Hermon Lagman, who like several others, disappeared during martial law. – With Iris Gonzales, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero