UH OH
Lifted from
Heartbroken and traumatized by the brutal murder of her son by the bodyguards of Imee Marcos (https://bit.ly/3KORgY9), Mrs. Agapita Trajano would later relocate to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1982.
Fortunately for her, four years later in 1986, the Marcos family had been exiled to Hawaii, U.S.A, a country known for holding foreign state officials accountable for abusing human rights.
Mrs. Trajano alongside her Attorney, Sherry Broader, filed a civil case and would join forces with Philadelphia Lawyer Robert Swift.
Swift had assembled a class action lawsuit for 9,541 victims of torture and murder after having flown to Manila to meet with surviving torture victims of the Marcos regime, local human rights lawyers, and San Francisco litigator Melvin Belli who had filed a damage suit on behalf of 23 victims. The cases were consolidated through the Multi-District Litigation Panel of the USA federal courts in Hawaii.
At last, the victims of the Marcos regime would have their day in court.
When the case came to trial in 1992, the Marcos clan was scattered: the dictator Ferdinand had died in 1989; Imee had fled to Morroco; mother and son Imelda and Bongbong had returned to Manila. To make matters worse, the Philippine’s Human Rights Commission had already abandoned any attempt to prosecute them, but the litigation went on in the state of Hawaii.
This meant that the only form of justice—the only chance of getting any form of justice—was from the country that the Philippines wanted their military presence removed but their aid to be continuous.
Symbolic, to say the least.
Two damning testimonies to the Marcos defense came from the Catholic nun Sister Mariani Dimaranan whose group, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, documented 5,531 instances of torture. Another came from the former USA ambassador to the Philippines from 1983 to 1987, Stephen Bronsworth, who was present during the People Power Revolution. He acted as an intermediary between the Marcos administration and the United States government and even arranged the Marcos clan’s escape via helicopter lift.
He explained from his experience in Manila conversing with government and military officials, many of whom were appointed by Ferdinand Marcos himself, that Marcos exercised absolute control over the armed forces and ignored torture.
The attorneys of the Marcos camp did not challenge Mr. Bosworth’s testimony but instead shifted blame to Marcos’ subordinates.
In September 1992, Marcos was found guilty of systematic torture, and his estate was liable for damages. For the first time in Filipino history, a former president of the country was held accountable for his actions, a far cry from being pardoned for killing Julio Nalundasan in 1935.
By February 1994, the Honolulu court awarded 1.2 billion dollars for punitive damages. However, Atty. Robert Swift warned that a problem may arise from Marcos’ remaining assets estimated to be at 410 million dollars still in Switzerland.
The attorney had been correct.
Later in September 1994, through the failures of the Cory Aquino to address the socio-economic problems caused by Ferdinand Marcos, the Filipino people elected Fidel V. Ramos, the former defense minister and relative of Ferdinand Marcos as their new president.
The USA Judge Manuel Real accused the Filipino government of “aiding and abetting the Marcos family.”
Atty. Swift reported that the Ramos administration had split the 410 million estates between themselves and the surviving Marcos family.
How was this made possible?
A Manila regional court ruled exclusive jurisdiction of Marcos’ estate in Switzerland. This gave the Ramos administration reason to collect the 410 million dollars.
By January 1995, the Honolulu court increased 1.2 billion to 2 billion for damages, but it would never be given to the victims. President Ramos announced he would claim Marcos’ assets for the Filipino people but not for the victims to whom the amount was promised.
Collecting Marcos’ assets for the victims became more difficult as the court rulings had to pass between the Philippine, then Swiss, then American courts.
The final nail in the coffin was in 1997 when a Swiss appeals court ruled in favor of the Marcos family, requiring that Ferdinand must be found guilty of theft before any amount can be released to the victims. A few days later, Ramos-appointed Human Rights Commissioner Aurora Recina certified the entire Marcos family clear of any human rights violation.
President Ramos had successfully cleared the Marcos clan of any crimes in the span of ten years after their exile.
At this point, the victims’ lawyers were exhausted, and many had gone their own ways to achieve justice unlike before when they all shared a goal and supported one another.
Coinciding with this event, South Korea sentenced two former presidents to death for corruption and brutality. When asked about the comparison, President Ramos said “that’s Korean Style justice.”
Despite the best efforts of local human rights champions and the support and just rulings of the American lawyers and courts, the Marcos family still won.
What does that say then, to a society like the Philippines that easily forgets and elects the same people who would deny them their humanity, rights, and even the compensation to live?
Perhaps, the Philippines does deserve who it elects.
—Raymundo White
Sources:
Aquino, Dr. Belina A. The Human Rights Debacle in the Philippines, in Naomi Roht Arriaza, ed. Impunity and Human Rights in International Law and Practice, (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) pp. 239-241
Aquino, Dr. Belina A., Hidden Wealth vs, Rights”
Associated Press. “WORLD NEWS BRIEFS; Marcos in Bid to Halt Dispersal of Swiss Funds.” The New York Times Archives, 10 Dec. 1996, p. 16.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 9/11/92, 2/24/94, 9/13/94, 1/25/95
Honolulu Adviser, 2/24/94
McCoy, Alfred W. (1999). Closer than brothers: manhood at the Philippine Military Academy. Yale University Press. pp. 327–329
RE: Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litigation, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, MDL No. 840, “Verdict – Class Action” (18 January 1995), 2.
Shenon, Philip. “Marcos's Loot May Be Shared by Filipino Victims.” The New York Times Archives, 28 Oct. 1995, p. 3.
Today (Manila Standard), 10/22/95, 10/24/95, 4/3/96
Wall Street Journal, 1/9/96
