Duterte OKs longer period for martial law victims’ claims

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has signed a joint resolution approved by the House of Representatives and Senate that extends until yearend the maintenance, availability and release of funds intended for victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime.

The President signed the joint resolution last Feb. 22, documents released by Malacañang yesterday showed.

The resolution also authorized the treasury bureau and the Land Bank of the Philippines to release the funds and the Commission on Human Rights to administer the distribution of compensation.

Under the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, the reparation for the victims will come from a P10-billion fund plus accrued interest that form part of the funds transferred to the Philippines by virtue of a Swiss Federal Court ruling.

In 1997, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ordered the return of Marcos’ Swiss bank deposits to the Philippines subject to two conditions.

The court required a final and executory ruling declaring the funds as ill-gotten and the giving of a rightful share of the funds to victims of human rights violations who won a class suit against the Marcos estate in a Honolulu court.

The 2013 law required the Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB) to complete its work within two years from effectivity of its implementing rules.

Another law was passed in April 2016 extending the effectivity of the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act from May 12, 2014 to May 12, 2018.

As of May 11, 2018, the HRVCB has approved and recognized 11,103 legitimate claimants out of more than 75,000 applicants. The board has also resolved 6,737 appeals as of May 6, 2018.

The checks issued by the board to the victims were valid only up to three months from issuance.

The joint resolution noted that as of June 28, 2018, the HRVCB’s account with Land Bank of the Philippines had a balance of P792.628 million that can only be maintained until Aug. 11, 2018. The balance will then be returned to the treasury bureau. The resolution said some of the families of claimants have experienced difficulties encashing the checks.

“There have been reports from several approved claimants’ relatives that they were not able to encash the checks even with the issuance of special power of attorney,” the resolution read. – With Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, Helen Flores