Martial Law Victims Insulted by Exclusion from List of Compensation Claimants

Martial Law Victims Insulted by Exclusion from List of Compensation Claimants

 Out of the 9,539 original complainants in a class action suit filed against the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, only 7,526 victims would receive compensation. “Are they telling us that we are not genuine victims? Where is justice for us?” said martial-law victim Carlos Bolito, 60, after learning he was not included in the list of claimants.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Jose “Bong” Barsoles, 59, who was tortured and detained during martial law, went to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) compound in Quezon City on March 1 to get his share of the compensation awarded by the Federal District Court of Hawaii to the victims of martial law who filed a class action suit against the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

But after patiently waiting for his turn, Barsoles was told that he is not included in the master list of claimants. Surprised, he told the person issuing the claims that he was among the original petitioners in the class suit. He was then asked to fill out a form and was told to wait for further notice.

Barsoles was among the more than 2,000 victims of martial law whose names have been delisted from the original list of petitioners. On Feb. 28, some of the victims received $1,000 each during ceremonies at Club Filipino in San Juan City. Out of the 9,539 original complainants, only 7,526 victims would receive their cheques.

Martial-law victims and families of those slain during the Marcos dictatorship wait for their turn to get compensation. Others, including those who joined the class suit, were not in the list. (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

The compensation came from the $10-million settlement agreement by Marcos crony Jose Campos, which was approved by United States District Judge Manuel Real. While the estimated value of Marcos’s ill-gotten wealth in Colorado and Texas is pegged at $78 million, the counsel for the martial-law victims Robert Swift settled for only $10 million. Twenty-five percent of the amount was given to Swift and his team of researchers and only $7.5 million were allotted for the victims..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/03/02/martial-law-victims-insulted-by-exclusion-from-list-of-compensation-claimants/