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By Francis Earl A. Cueto
Correspondent
THE lead counsels of the victim
of human rights abuses during the regime of the late strongman
Ferdinand Marcos expressed confidence that the United State Supreme
Court will award them the $35-million Marcos assets that is the
subject of a case review.
The oral arguments will be heard
on March 17, Monday, with American lawyer Robert Swift arguing for
the victims.
“We are confident in the
strength of our arguments,” Swift, lead lawyer for the 9,539 human
rights victims, said in a statement. “Just as we prevailed in the
two lower courts, we hope to prevail here.”
In a statement from lawyer Rod
Domingo, the group said that they are confident with the arguments
set by Swift, saying that evidence is on their side that the amount
stashed away in a brokerage account at Merrill Lynch in the name of
Arelma, a phony Panamanian corporation, should be distributed to the
victims.
In 1995, the victims obtained a
historic $2-billion judgment against Marcos for instigating torture,
summary execution and involuntary disappearance during the martial
law years.
“The Republic never had any
evidence that the Marcos account at Merrill Lynch ever belonged to
the Philippine government. The government’s role in the litigation
is spiteful and disrespectful to the victims of government
brutality. Even the United Nations has sanctioned it [government]
for disregarding the rights of the victims under international
law,” Domingo and Swift said in the statement.
They will be met with the same
enthusiasm though as the Presidential Commission on Good Government
(PCGG) likewise expressed belief that the US court will side with
them.
The PCGG and the Office of the
Solicitor General have consistently blocked before US courts the
release of the Arelma’s money to the martial law victims, claiming
that since the amount was ill-gotten, this should be released to the
National Treasury.
The Philippine government even
sought to remove Trial Judge Manuel Real from hearing the case. But
a November 2006 ruling of the US Court of Appeals unanimously
rejected the Republic’s argument for lack of merit.
The Arroyo government’s appeals
have delayed the distribution of the money to the victims for three
and half years now. An initial distribution to each of the qualified
victims of $20,000 now awaits a positive ruling from the US Supreme
Court.
Swift chided US Solicitor General
Paul Clement and US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney for
not doing enough to help the Filipino human rights victims.
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