SC asked to take cue from Korean court on Filipino comfort women case

MANILA, Philippines - A group of private lawyers on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to take a cue from the Constitutional Court of Korea on the issue of the Korean comfort women in deciding the case of Filipino comfort women now pending before it.

The Center for International Law urged to consider an Aug. 30, 2011 decision by the Constitutional Court of Korea,  which said that blocking the payment of claims to comfort women is an "infringement of fundamental dignity and value of human beings." 

It also found that a possibility of strained relations and problems with diplomatic ties are not excuses as it will be more constructive for both Korea-Japan diplomatic ties and Korea’s national interest to call on the Japanese government to take on its legal responsibility toward the victims. 

In their suit, the Korean comfort women questioned the refusal of the government to settle the issue of whether or not there is still liability on the part of the government of Japan for the atrocities committed against them by its soldiers during World War II. 

The Korean Court granted the comfort women's petition, ordering that its government settle the issue with the government of Japan.

"Unlike our own Supreme Court, the Korean Court saw that its government’s refusal to settle the issue of liability with regard to the case of the comfort women was a violation of its Constitution and violated the Constitutional rights of its comfort women.  

"Sadly, our own Supreme Court did not see it the same way in its 2010 decision. We are hoping that the Korean decision will provide necessary guidance to our own Supreme Court and they find wisdom in the reasoning of the Korean Court," lawyer Romel Bagares, one of the petitioner’s counsels, said. 

The suit stemmed from a petition filed in 2004 by 70 members of the Malaya Lolas Organization (Malaya Lolas), who survived the Mapanique, Tarlac siege by the Japanese Imperial Army. 

In their petition, they said they are victims of systematic rape and  sexual slavery committed by the Japanese soldiers during WWII, asking the High Court to compel the government to espouse their claims against Japan.