Martial Law survivors to Marcos: Acknowledge abuses under dad's rule

Martial Law survivors on Wednesday asked President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to acknowledge the alleged abuses committed under the reign of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

In a statement issued on the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, the group Survivors' Hub said these abuses include "torture, illegal imprisonment [and] enforced disappearance."

"We, therefore, demand: That the incumbent President acknowledge the torture, illegal imprisonment, enforced disappearance, and other human rights violations that took place between 1972 – 1986," they said.

They also asked that the "long delayed, non-monetary reparations due martial law victims be given at the soonest possible time."

"We reject and denounce any attempt to represent that darkest of periods in our modern history as any kind of golden age," the survivors said.

Survivors' Hub describes itself as a "loose alliance of martial law survivors from different sectors and civil society organizations working together to uphold truth and justice."

GMA News Online has reached out to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles for Malacañang's comment, but she has yet to respond as of posting time.

Debts, red-tagging

In the same statement, the survivors also called on the Marcos heirs to be accountable their "debts to the Filipino people," mentioning the family's ill-gotten wealth and P23-billion unpaid estate taxes.

In an interview last week, Marcos said he is in favor of reopening the case in connection with the estate tax, adding his family did not have the chance to answer the case in court.

Meanwhile, the survivors, in their statement, also pushed for  an immediate stop to red-tagging of political and social thinkers and activists, saying such is reminiscent of the Martial Law years.

"National unity can be based only on truth, justice, and the free exercise of civil liberties and human rights. Thus, we swear once more to dedicate the remainder of our lives to bearing the torch of freedom under the threat of renewed repression, to cast the light of truth on our past and present, and to ensure that justice come to those who struggled and bore witness before us," they said.

Compensation

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro echoed the Martial Law survivors' call, saying justice has yet to be fully served to them.

"The number of those compensated is so little compared with data collated by the Amnesty International which listed 70,000 people detained, 34,000 tortured and 3,240 killed," Castro said.

Castro said while 11,103 survivors have been compensated under the 2013 Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act, at least 2,326 individuals are listed as either dead or missing, while 2,104 are listed as tortured based on the records of the government-run Human Rights Violations Victims Memorial Commission.

Another 3,355 were placed in arbitrary detention, while 3,318 went into involuntary exile, she added.

Marcos is in the United States for a six-day working visit. On the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.  —KBK, GMA News