SELDA cheers ‘Marcos victims’ $7.5M settlement sharing, but…

The Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), the organization of ex-detainees during Marcos regime which led the 9,539 victims under the Martial Law period and initiated the filing of the class action suit against the late President Ferdinand Marcos and family, welcomed on Friday the approval by a US District Court of the distribution of funds from the settlement agreement. “We welcome the news that, … finally, a component of justice, which is indemnification, can be served to some of the victims of Martial Law," said former congressman Satur Ocampo, National Board member of SELDA and one of the 9,539 victims in the class action suit against Marcos in the US. Ocampo noted that the $7.5 million indemnification will come from the $10-million settlement by the Campos family, a Marcos crony, with the victims. “The settlement has proven the very well known fact that the Marcoses stashed money from the people's coffers and allowed dummies and cronies to hold these for them," he added. But SELDA called on American lawyer Robert Swift, as the court-appointed legal counsel of the victims, to explain and answer the various questions raised by the victims here in the Philippines:

1. Why only $7.5M dollars out of the approved $10M settlement will be distributed to the victims?
2. Why only 7,526 of the 9,539 victims will get indemnified from the settlement?
3. Who and when was the number of 7,526 victims approved?

SELDA acknowledged the efforts of Swift in identifying and going after crony money of the Marcoses, but questioned how he had considered the victims' views on the case. “Initially, SELDA opposed the settlement based on these questions we raised to the court-appointed counsel. We hope that the settlement will pave the way for government to finally enact the Marcos Victims Compensation bills so that the Martial Law victims will finally get the justice, indemnification and recognition they fully deserve," Ocampo said. “It is a call [on the Philippine] government to likewise serve justice to the victims of Martial Law by finally enacting into law the Marcos Victims Compensation measures (House Bills 954 and 1693) filed by Bayan Muna.," he added. SELDA is an organization of former political detainees in the country. Founded in 1984, it was formed by former political prisoners during the Martial Law period. – MRT/JV, GMANews.TV