ON ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH
Many of you know that I worked with the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) for well over a year. Although it was gratifying to know that, in theory at least, I was fighting the good fight, it was a physically and emotionally draining experience. For one thing, my office was right along EDSA, and to get there I invariably found myself walking a stretch of the road from the MRT station to the office in the early morning Mandaluyong smog. On top of this, my seat in the office (which was about all of eight square meters or something ridiculously cramped like that) put me right in the path of the air-conditioner. It’s not like I could have relocated; I took the only seat that remained unoccupied. It was emotionally draining because, reading about all the times that Lucio Tan and Danding Cojuangco and the pit bulls they call their litigation team made mincemeat out of the government was depressing. There was also the fat bitch who felt the need to throw her weight around the office. Since of the three of us who worked in that room, I was the only one who ranked below her, so…
In spite of all these little inconveniences, there was definite gratification to be had. The period spanning 2001-2002 was one of the most fruitful in the history of the Commission. It was in December of 2001 that the historic Coco Levy ruling came out, which was effectively the Supreme Court flipping the bird at old Danding. I remember reading about more than a few related victories after that, even after I had resigned. We all talk about being men for others and contributing to something greater than ourselves. Well, back then I felt like I was actually doing just that. In fact, one of the reasons I have, on very rare occasions, found myself defending the current administration, is the fact that the PCGG has, for the first time since its inception, made some real progress towards recovering ill-gotten wealth (the other reason is Bayani Fernando’s political will).
You’d think, then, that I would be nonplussed by the recent US Appellate Court’s decision not to award the $683 million to the human rights victims. According to the newspapers, all the US Court is saying that, since our own Supreme Court has ruled that this money belongs to the government, they are maintaining a “hands-off” stance. Of course, there’s probably more to this than meets the eye, but nonetheless, I find myself upset for a number of reasons:
1) I feel for the human rights victims. My Tita was a political detainee from 1980 to late 1985, and I saw what kind of conditions they lived in. The rats ate with the dogs and slept with the prisoners…that sort of thing. And those were just the detainees. This says nothing about the ones they electrified, or otherwise tortured. Because the Marcoses were, at the time the cases were filed, living in Hawaii, well, the Hawaiian courts kind of had jurisdiction, especially since what were perpetrated were crimes against humanity, punishable under international law. It just seems callous that the US Court should wash their hands of the whole matter.
2) That the US Courts are leaving the distribution of the money up to our government frightens me even more. I mean, I rather frankly hope the Marcoses never see that money again, but I’m hard pressed to imagine how this country can be better off if the ill-gotten gains of one family in power simply find their way into the pockets of another. The pronouncement that this money will go “into land reform,” without any specification as to how it will be used makes my skin crawl. It seems eerily familiar to Congressmen whining for their pork barrel. I hope to God it gets distributed, and soon, or the victims will likely never see that money. The award was made over a decade ago, after all.
3) The dismissal of the cases sets a precedent. I realize I have to hold off on my commentary until I really get to read something more substantial on what the rulings are, but the thing is this: people really died during the martial law years. They really were tortured and intimidated by members of the armed forces. Whatever else we might think about Marcos, the human rights violations that shook this country for over fourteen years and possibly longer were real. I know this because my aunt was one of those caught in the tempest of it. If as some people have interpreted the ruling, this is a dismissal of the victims’ claims, then this is kind of like pretending it never happened, when psychological and physical scars say otherwise.
I really pray that things do not take a turn for the worse from here.
In spite of all these little inconveniences, there was definite gratification to be had. The period spanning 2001-2002 was one of the most fruitful in the history of the Commission. It was in December of 2001 that the historic Coco Levy ruling came out, which was effectively the Supreme Court flipping the bird at old Danding. I remember reading about more than a few related victories after that, even after I had resigned. We all talk about being men for others and contributing to something greater than ourselves. Well, back then I felt like I was actually doing just that. In fact, one of the reasons I have, on very rare occasions, found myself defending the current administration, is the fact that the PCGG has, for the first time since its inception, made some real progress towards recovering ill-gotten wealth (the other reason is Bayani Fernando’s political will).
You’d think, then, that I would be nonplussed by the recent US Appellate Court’s decision not to award the $683 million to the human rights victims. According to the newspapers, all the US Court is saying that, since our own Supreme Court has ruled that this money belongs to the government, they are maintaining a “hands-off” stance. Of course, there’s probably more to this than meets the eye, but nonetheless, I find myself upset for a number of reasons:
1) I feel for the human rights victims. My Tita was a political detainee from 1980 to late 1985, and I saw what kind of conditions they lived in. The rats ate with the dogs and slept with the prisoners…that sort of thing. And those were just the detainees. This says nothing about the ones they electrified, or otherwise tortured. Because the Marcoses were, at the time the cases were filed, living in Hawaii, well, the Hawaiian courts kind of had jurisdiction, especially since what were perpetrated were crimes against humanity, punishable under international law. It just seems callous that the US Court should wash their hands of the whole matter.
2) That the US Courts are leaving the distribution of the money up to our government frightens me even more. I mean, I rather frankly hope the Marcoses never see that money again, but I’m hard pressed to imagine how this country can be better off if the ill-gotten gains of one family in power simply find their way into the pockets of another. The pronouncement that this money will go “into land reform,” without any specification as to how it will be used makes my skin crawl. It seems eerily familiar to Congressmen whining for their pork barrel. I hope to God it gets distributed, and soon, or the victims will likely never see that money. The award was made over a decade ago, after all.
3) The dismissal of the cases sets a precedent. I realize I have to hold off on my commentary until I really get to read something more substantial on what the rulings are, but the thing is this: people really died during the martial law years. They really were tortured and intimidated by members of the armed forces. Whatever else we might think about Marcos, the human rights violations that shook this country for over fourteen years and possibly longer were real. I know this because my aunt was one of those caught in the tempest of it. If as some people have interpreted the ruling, this is a dismissal of the victims’ claims, then this is kind of like pretending it never happened, when psychological and physical scars say otherwise.
I really pray that things do not take a turn for the worse from here.
posted by Jim Arroyo at 7:58 AM
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