Marcos arrives in New York for UN summit
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has arrived in New York ahead of his scheduled speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, September 20.
Marcos Jr. departed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 8 a.m. on Sunday and arrived in New York past midnight. Despite a human rights class suit resulting in a contempt judgment issued by a Hawaii court in 1995, Marcos was able to step on US soil thanks to diplomatic immunity.
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman earlier said Marcos Jr. would be afforded the diplomatic immunity “in all circumstances” since he will be visiting in his official role as the country’s chief executive.
When asked if Marcos Jr. would settle the 1995 contempt order during his New York trip, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said last week that "it is not part of the agenda as far as we can say."
The human rights class action suit
According to the timeline by the Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), the class action suit was planned “immediately after February 1986” when the late dictator and the president’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was ousted from office.
The trial was held in September 1992. By then, three cases against Marcos were consolidated into one — including the case of SELDA-mobilized victims, a group of 21 political prisoners who migrated to the US, and the group of Jose Maria Sison, Francisco Sison, and Jaime Piopongco.
There were 10,059 victims listed for the human rights class action suit.
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It was docketed as MDL 840 in the Federal District Court of Hawaii and the court sought to address the Marcoses’ liability as well as exemplary damages and compensatory damages to the victims.
Marcos was found guilty of gross human rights violations and was also found liable to pay damages to victims through his estate. In February 1994, the court awarded exemplary damages worth $1.2 billion to the victims and in January 1995, it also awarded $776 million for compensatory damages to 9,539 victims.
READ: Money trail: The Marcos Billions
Upholding the case
The Marcoses would attempt to appeal the decisions, but the US Court of Appeals upheld the judgments and the almost $2-billion exemplary and compensatory damages related to the human rights class action suit.
Marcos Sr. died in 1989 while in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii. However, Marcos Jr. and his mother Imelda Romualdez Marcos were named in the contempt judgment as they are the executors of Marcos Sr.’s estate.
READ: Whatever happened to: Graft conviction of Imelda Marcos
A $100,000 daily fine was imposed for every day that the Marcoses violated the order to pay the victims and it has since ballooned to $353.6 billion after 3,536 days. The order expired on February 3, 2005, but it was extended on August 31, 2019, by US District Judge Derrick Watson and it now stands until January 25, 2031.
While Marcos Jr. is afforded diplomatic immunity as the country’s elected chief executive, the US may act on the standing order should former first lady Imelda step on US soil.
77th UNGA
Marcos Jr. will be in New York until Saturday, September 24. His attendance at the 77th UNGA will be his first appearance before the international community.
He first met with some members of the Filipino community in the US. Aside from the UNGA session, he will also be pitching the Philippines' economic recovery plan in hopes to attract and secure investors.
The presidential delegation for the trip is composed of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Migrant Workers as well as members of the administration's economic team.
READ: Marcos New York trip to focus on economic, investment opportunities
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