Martial Law victims attend the oral arguments on the hero's burial for the late President Ferdinand Marcos. Photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Victims of horrifying acts of torture during Martial Law recounted their painful experiences before Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Wednesday, August 31.

Etta Rosales, former chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) who experienced the atrocities of the dictatorship, recounted: "They had a gun and they threatened me to answer the question, otherwise they [would] shoot [me]."

She was also raped, tortured, and went through electric shock and Russian roulette.

Rosales is among the petitioners asking the Supreme Court to stop the burial of the late dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, which President Rodrigo Duterte had allowed supposedly for the country to be able to move on from that period of history.

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Another petitioner in one of the cases, Trinidad Herrera, told the Chief Justice about her terrible experience under the dictatorship.

"'Pinatanggal nila ang aking blusa at 'nilagay ang linya ng kuryente sa suso ko. Pumasok pa ang kuryente sa katawan ko hanggang di ko na nakayanan," Herrera tearfully recalled during oral arguments on the petition against a hero's burial for the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

(They ordered me to remove my blouse and they applied electric shock on my breast. Electricity went through my body until I couldn't take it anymore.)

"They even put water on the floor so that the electricity would enter my body," she added in Filipino.

Another victim, Fe Mangahas, shared: "They would scare me again by touching me and breathing down my neck and then I felt something like naihi ako (I peed). I figured it was blood because at the time I did not realize I was two months pregnant."

"When they found out I was pregnant I was released, but I was asked to report weekly about my whereabouts. I had to do this every Saturday for a year," she added.

Other victims also detailed what they went through when they were captured by uniformed men.

Maria Christina Rodriguez said her captors burned her skin with cigarette. Her fingers were swollen because of bullet-pressing.

Maria Christina Bawagan said her thighs were hit until they looked like rotten vegetables. She was sexually abused, with her captors inserting objects into her vagina and touching her breasts while blindfolded. She said she may never know who exactly tortured her, but she clearly remembered their voice.

Each of these women remembered the exact date they were captured and went through the life-scarring experience.

Sereno asked the petitioners, who are claimants for compensation under Republic Act 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparations Act, to speak before the court. (READ: What the gov’t still owes Martial Law victims)

She told them, "The Court is listening."

Not about the money

During her interpellation of former Akbayan Representative Ibarra Gutierrez III, lawyer for one of the petitioning groups, Sereno asked if the monetary compensation for the victims was not sufficient.

Gutierrez responded: "No, your Honor, because the law explicitly acknowledges to recognize the [victims and their heroism and sacrifices]."

He also said that money is not equivalent to the restoration of dignity of the victims.

The late strongman's state burial, he said, would "prolong and extend" the suffering of the victims.

Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB) Chairperson Lina Sarmiento, who was one of the resource persons invited, said that out of over 75,000 claims, they have only finished processing 17,000.

HCRVB can only start distributing the compensation after every case has been settled because the P10 billion funds allotted will be divided according to the intensity of human rights violations experienced by each victim.

Sarmiento said they are hoping to finish the work before May 12, 2018, when their office expires.

Non-repetition

Also appearing as a resource person, CHR Chairperson Chito Gascon said the state has an obligation for "non-repetition" of the trauma they experienced during Martial Law.

"There is a commitment on the part of the state [to] non-repetition, [that] the victims should not be exposed to re-traumatization," he told Chief Justice Sereno.

Gascon stressed that local and international laws acknowledge reparations as a "positive act that the stake must undertake to [prevent] impunity." – Rappler.com

Other stories from the SC oral arguments on the Marcos burial cases: </s> QUEZON CITY — Victims of Marcos’ martial law and their relatives from Cagayan Valley trooped to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, November 14, to register their calls for the reopening of application for the recognition and indemnification of martial law victims.

More than 60 individuals led by the regional chapter of Hustisya held an audience with the Makabayan bloc representatives. They also submitted a petition with more than 6000 signatures and 4 municipal resolutions supporting their clamor.

The victims and their families are appealing for the enactment of a new law that will establish a body that will continue the process of recognizing victims of martial law and provide indemnification.

Makabayan representatives said the body to be created must be more considerate in the application process. The solons noted that most who applied in the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board were denied due to technicalities. Officials demanded the submission of documents like release papers, medical certificates, and death certificates that were almost non-existent during martial law especially in the rural areas. In May 2018, the board closed with only 11,103 or 14% applications for indemnification approved.

The activity happened a few days after the conviction of Imelda Marcos, wife of deceased Dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Hustisya-Cagayan Valley regional coordinator Charles Valencia called for her immediate arrest.

He pointed that poor individuals are swiftly arrested even if claims against them are still accusations while the rich, like Imelda, are allowed to circumvent the law.

The group also conducted forums, discussions, and mobilizations Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines-Diliman. They provided first-hand testimonies to the students and urged them to always stand for what is right. The students from the two universities also signed petitions in support for the martial law victims’ campaign for their recognition and indemnification.

Last October 29, the first batch of martial law victims from Cagayan Valley went to Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City to witness the unveiling of the monument dedicated to them. They also talked in University of the Philippines-Manila about their quest for justice and to gather support.

The activity was in coordination with the regional chapters of Karapatan, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines. It was the offshoot of consultations and forums with martial law victims’ in Isabela and Cagayan.# nordis.net </s> A Philippine court on Monday convicted retired army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and two others for the highly publicized enforced disappearance of two female student activists from the University of the Philippines. The court sentenced Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, and Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and illegal detention of Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006, who remain missing.

The verdict is an important step for justice in the Philippines, where serious abuses by the military and police are rarely punished. Palparan is possibly the highest ranking military officer convicted in a human rights case. The extrajudicial killings of political activists became commonplace during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, which ended in the 1986 “people power” revolution, and continue to this day.

For years, Palparan, 68, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine in the Philippine military’s campaign against the communist New People’s Army. He was known as “The Butcher” because of the bloodshed that ensued wherever he was assigned. Prosecutors originally charged Palparan in 2011 for the abduction of Cadapan and Empeño, but he evaded authorities for years and was arrested only in 2014.

In 2015, a witness, Raymond Manalo, testified that he saw Palparan along with Cadapan and Empeño inside a military camp in Bulacan province where he, too, had been detained for being a suspected communist rebel. Manalo alleged that the two women had been severely tortured and raped while in Palparan’s custody. Another witness, Wilfredo Ramos Jr., also testified in court that he had seen the abduction of the two women by Sergeant Osorio and other armed men. In its decision, the court said Ramos's testimony "dovetailed" with that of Manalo’s, constituting “persuasive and unassailable proof that the three accused in complicity with each other committed the crimes imputed against them.”

The guilty verdicts and long sentences came after a long and agonizing struggle for justice by the families and supporters of the two activists. It rekindles hope among the families of many other victims of human rights violations in the Philippines. And it serves as a reminder to state security forces that justice and the law will catch up with them sooner or later. </s> MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its temporary ban on the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at a heroes’ cemetery after a hearing during which some justices questioned whether President Rodrigo Duterte abused his executive power and violated laws by allowing the entombment, which is opposed by the Marcos regime’s human rights victims.

The court gave both sides 20 days to submit statements before issuing a ruling. An earlier court order temporarily halted the burial until Sept. 12 while the cases were being heard.

Solictor General Jose Calida defended Duterte’s directive, saying it is within the president’s power and a political issue on which the court should not rule. He said Marcos, as a former president and war veteran who was not dishonorably discharged from the military, is qualified to be buried at the cemetery.

Burying a dictator accused of massive rights violations and corruption at the Heroes’ Cemetery has long been an emotional and divisive issue in the Philippines, where Marcos was ousted by a “people power” revolt in 1986. He flew to Hawaii, where he lived with his wife and children in exile until he died in 1989. His body was flown back to his hometown in 1993, where it has been displayed in a glass coffin. But his family wants his remains transferred to the Heroes’ Cemetery.

During Wednesday’s hearing, about 200 supporters of the late dictator picketed outside the court, some carrying a streamer that said “Bury the dead, follow the law.” Another group of activists opposing the burial held up a banner that said “Marcos is no hero!” and chanted “Marcos, Hitler, Dictator, Puppet!” </s> MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she plans to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.

The special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metropolitan Manila governor.

Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday's court hearing.

Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being studied by one of her lawyers who notified the Marcos family that he intends to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims welcomed the conviction as long overdue.

The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her congressional term will end next year but she has registered to run to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.

"I was jumping up and down in joy in disbelief," said former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among many activists locked up after Imelda's husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.

Rosales said the decision was a huge setback to efforts by the Marcos family to revise history by denying many of the atrocities under the dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight all threats against democracy and civil liberties.

Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also jailed during the Marcos dictatorship, said it was up to voters in next year's May 13 local elections, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want "somebody who has a bad name representing them, that's your call."

Imelda Marcos' husband was ousted by an army-backed "people power" revolt in 1986. He died in self-exile in Hawaii in 1989 but his widow and children returned to the Philippines. Most have been elected to public offices in an impressive political comeback.

Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government's coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.

Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades of trial by several judges and prosecutors. She was once convicted of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later cleared her of any wrongdoing.

President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcoses, said last year the Marcos family had indicated a willingness to return a still-unspecified amount of money and "a few gold bars" to help ease budget deficits. He indicated the family still denied that the assets had been stolen as alleged by political opponents.

Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.

A Hawaii court found Marcos liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

Duterte has acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple's daughter and a provincial governor, backed his presidential candidacy. </s> The Philippine anti-corruption court has ordered the arrest of Imelda Marcos after finding her guilty on seven counts of graft during the two-decade rule of her husband, the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The former first lady, 89, who is also famous for her huge collection of shoes, jewellery and artwork, has faced dozens of protracted graft cases since her family was toppled in an army-backed popular uprising in 1986.

The court ordered Marcos, a congresswoman, to serve six to 11 years in jail for each of the seven counts of graft. She was charged for making seven bank transfers totalling $200m (£154m) to Swiss foundations during her term as Manila governor.

Marcos and her representatives did not attend the legal hearing on Friday. She could not be reached for comment.

The arrest warrant might not be executed immediately because Marcos could appeal against the ruling, a prosecutor said.

“She can elevate it to the supreme court if she sees grave abuse of discretion in the Sandiganbayan [court]’s decision. So this is not yet final and executory,” the assistant special prosecutor, Ryan Quilala,said, adding that Marco could also file for an application for bail.

Under the rules of the Sandiganbayan, Marcos has 15 days from promulgation of the ruling to file an appeal, and the anti-graft court has 30 days within which to decide on it. She may also go straight to the supreme court to seek relief.

Marcos, who is serving her third consecutive term as a member of congress, has registered to contest an election to succeed her daughter, Imee Marcos, as governor of Ilocos Norte, the stronghold of the still-powerful Marcos family. Imee is running for the Philippine senate in 2019.

The opposition senator Risa Hontiveros said: “I hope this ruling would serve as a crucial electoral guide to our voters this coming election.”

Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, during which time thousands of opponents were jailed, killed or disappeared. He was accused of amassing more than $10bn while in office and died in exile in 1989.

The current president, Rodrigo Duterte, has good ties with the Marcos family and has often praised Ferdinand Marcos. He allowed Marcos’s embalmed body to be buried at a special heroes’ cemetery in 2016, and the president is often accompanied at official events by Imee Marcos.

Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the ruling against Imelda Marcos was proof that the executive “is not in the business of exerting undue interference or influence on courts, and therefore respects the decision”. </s> MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines’ anti-corruption court on Friday ordered the arrest of former first lady Imelda Marcos after finding her guilty on seven counts of graft during the two-decade rule of her husband and former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.

But Marcos, 89, famous for a huge collection of shoes, jewelry and artwork, can avoid arrest and remain free if she appeals the decision and if denied, she can challenge it at the Supreme Court.

Marcos said in a statement her lawyer is “studying the decision and he has advised us that he intends to file a motion for reconsideration”.

The widow of the late dictator is facing dozens of protracted graft cases that have hounded her since her family was toppled in an army-backed popular uprising in 1986.

The court ordered Marcos, a congresswoman, to serve six to 11 years in jail for each of the seven counts of graft. She was charged for making seven bank transfers totaling $200 million to Swiss foundations during her term as Manila governor.

The court’s decision came nearly three decades after the case was filed.

Under the rules of the Sandiganbayan, the former first lady has 15 days from promulgation of the ruling to file an appeal, and the anti-graft court has 30 days within which to decide on it. Marcos may also go straight to Supreme Court to seek relief. She can also file an application for bail.

Marcos, a sitting three-term congresswoman, has registered as a candidate next May to succeed her daughter, Imee Marcos, 62, as governor of Ilocos Norte, the stronghold of the still powerful Marcos family.

Imee is running for the Philippine senate in 2019.

“I hope this ruling would serve as a crucial electoral guide to our voters this coming election”, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said in a statement.

Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines for two decades, placing the country under martial law in 1972, during which time thousands of opponents were jailed, killed or disappeared.

He was accused of amassing more than $10 billion while in office and died in exile in 1989.

President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys good ties with the Marcos family and has often praised the late strongman.

Duterte allowed Marcos’ embalmed body to be buried at a special heroes’ cemetery in 2016, and the president is often accompanied at official events by Imee Marcos.

Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said in a statement the ruling against Imelda Marcos was proof that the executive “is not in the business of exerting undue interference or influence” on courts, and therefore respects the decision.” </s> MANILA: The Philippines´ top court voted on Friday to remove its own chief justice, who faced ouster efforts after battling with President Rodrigo Duterte over human rights and his deadly war on drugs.

The decision against Maria Lourdes Sereno drew to the Manila court some 2,000 protesters who echoed charges that the sacking posed a grave threat to the nation´s democracy. Sereno, the country´s first female chief justice, is one of several high-profile critics who have found themselves targeted after speaking out against the president.

"Sereno is found disqualified from and hereby adjudged guilty of unlawfully holding and exercising the office of the chief justice," court spokesman Theodore Te told reporters. "The decision is immediately executed without further need of action from the court," Te said, adding the vote was 8-6 against Sereno.

The Supreme Court case against Sereno alleged she failed to file statements of assets and liabilities in previous years, accusations she categorically denied. Separately, Sereno is also facing an impeachment effort in the lower House of Representatives, a move which critics allege is part of a wider campaign by Duterte to destroy foes and create one-man rule.

The vote "ushers in another era of another dictatorship as the Court... puts an end to the last gasps of a dying constitutional democracy", Senator Leila de Lima, a jailed Duterte critic, wrote in a statement.

The Philippines lived under martial law a generation ago, when dictator Ferdinand Marcos used military rule to suppress his critics. Minutes after the decision was announced, a smiling Sereno emerged from the Supreme Court building to tell her supporters the fight was not over. "This day is not the end, this is just the beginning," she said, without specifying her next move.

"Let us set aside our differences because there is a greater and stronger enemy that we must all face," she told the cheering throng. The national lawyers group, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said it will closely scrutinise the decision because it believes only the Senate has the power to dismiss a Supreme Court justice in this case.

Duterte and Sereno first clashed in 2016 when she criticised his order urging judges whom he linked to the illegal drug trade to turn themselves in as part of his crackdown. Police say they have killed around 4,200 drug suspects in Duterte´s nearly two-year-long campaign but rights groups allege the actual number is three times higher.

Duterte´s spokesman released a statement saying, "The High Court has spoken. Let us respect its decision." Sereno had resisted the ouster effort, saying in March, "The current state of the nation is one where perceived enemies of the dominant order are considered fair game for harassment, intimidation and persecution."

Other Duterte critics have also been ousted, punished or threatened, including de Lima, the Commission on Human Rights and an anti-corruption prosecutor who investigated allegations that Duterte has hidden wealth.

The president last month urged lawmakers to "fast-track" Sereno´s removal, warning that otherwise "I´ll do it for you". She has been accused of failing to pay about two million pesos ($40,000) in taxes as well as falsifying and tampering with court resolutions.

She is also alleged to have spent excessively on "opulent" hotels and a luxury official vehicle, as well as flying business or first class. Sereno is the second chief justice in a row to be ousted in the Philippines. Lawmakers convicted her predecessor, Renato Corona, in 2012 of corruption.

Then-president Benigno Aquino said the sacking was part of his anti-graft reforms, but critics said he was trying to ensure his control of the court. </s> ILIGAN, Philippines (AP) — President Rodrigo Duterte made a joke about rape as he urged soldiers to use the powers of martial law to take control of a besieged city in the southern Philippines.

In the speech Friday, Duterte said he will pay the consequences if any soldiers are accused of abuses.

He said: “I will go to jail for you. If you happen to have raped three women, I will own up to it.”

On Tuesday, Duterte imposed 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines as government forces battle militants in Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.

Duterte is unapologetic about his manner of speech and liberally peppers casual statements with profanities.
Female victims of the martial law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos speak at the Philippine Supreme Court about how they endured torture during Marcos' regime.