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Here are a few things to know about why the period under Martial Law matters in the ongoing fight for truth, justice and reparations in the Philippines.

• A lack of justice and accountability can lead to further human rights violations and erasure of the horrors of the past fuels attempts to revise history. Former President Marcos was never held accountable and was instead granted a hero’s burial with full military honours by the Duterte administration in 2016. Amnesty International believes that all those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law or other human rights violations should be brought to justice in fair trials, regardless of when and where the crimes were committed. There should be no amnesties, pardons or similar measures of impunity for such crimes if such measures prevent the emergence of the truth, a final judicial determination of guilt or innocence and full reparation for victims and their families. International law states that no time limits should apply to crimes under international law, irrespective of the date of their commission.
• Reparations remain elusive for many victims and their families who are unable to prove the violations that they or their relatives experienced during martial law, in the absence of documentation and other requirements. The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board – created by the government to “receive, evaluate, process, and investigate” reparation claims made by victims of human rights abuses during martial law, and which ceased its work in 2018 – received as many as 75,000 claimants, but only over 11,000 of these were recognized following the board’s assessment. Funds used to compensate the victims came from Marcos’ Swiss deposits, after Courts found that such funds were obtained by President Marcos through corruption.   

Amnesty International continues to call for truth, justice and reparations to be afforded for all victims of martial law, including continued efforts from the government to go after all those responsible of the atrocities committed during martial law.

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Ang larawan ay galing sa Presidential Museum and Library na inilathala sa Gulf News

Ang mga kaalaman ay kuha sa Amnesty Internationsl