Aquino may ask Congress for compensation for comfort women

President Benigno Aquino III may ask Congress to appropriate funds for Filipino women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II, but is unsure of whether he would seek apology from the Japanese government. A Palace statement issued Wednesday said Aquino told members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) that his administration would “correct" the failure of past governments to provide reparation for the so-called comfort women. “As far as the compensation is concerned, I understand the reparations and part of the Treaty is supposed to have taken care of all reparations, so if it is the Philippine government who failed to take care of them adequately sometime in the 50s. I think then that should be something that we should correct," Aquino said, referring to the Treaty of Peace that the Philippines signed with Japan in 1951. “I'll probably go to Congress and ask them for a pertinent law that will authorize expenditures to make up for what previous governments in this country had failed to do," he added. Aquino said the executive branch can ask for a supplement in the proposed 2011 budget, if it is allowable under the law, for compensation for comfort women. The proposed budget has already been passed by the House of Representatives. Apologies The President, however, was more cautious about the idea of asking the Japanese government to apologize for what was done to the Filipino comfort women. “As far as asking for apologies at this point in time, diplomacy has to have a lot of legwork done," Aquino said, adding that the new Philippine Ambassador to Japan, Manuel "Manolo" Lopez, will study the issue. "The next ambassador will be tasked to find ways and means whereby we can can achieve a compromise that is acceptable to all parties," he said. Aquino is set to fly to Japan on Thursday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. When asked by GMANews.TV if he would bring up the comfort women issue with Japanese leaders during his trip, the President said he would “if there is an opportunity." “Since we had a bilateral meet with the Japanese PM (prime minister) at the ASEAN summit and they are the APEC hosts, we might not have an opportunity now," Aquino said in a text message. Last May, the Supreme Court turned down the attempt of some 70 Filipino comfort women to compel government officials to support their demands for an official apology and other forms of reparation from the Japanese government. "Unimaginable horror" The court said that while it sympathizes with the petitioners’ cause, the call for the Philippine government to espouse claims of its nationals against a foreign government is a matter of foreign relations outside the judiciary. “We cannot begin to comprehend the unimaginable horror they underwent at the hands of the Japanese soldiers… Regrettably, it is not within our power to order the Executive Department to take up the petitioners’ cause. Ours is only the power to urge and exhort the Executive Department to take up petitioners’ cause," the SC ruled. The high court pointed out the Executive has determined that taking up the women’s cause would be inimical to the country’s foreign policy interests, and could disrupt our relations with Japan, thereby creating serious implications for stability in the region. “For us to overturn the Executive Department’s determination would mean an assessment of the foreign policy judgments by a coordinate political branch to which authority to make that judgment has been constitutionally committed," the SC said. - KBK, GMANews.TV