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LATEST UPDATE
On 25 January 1992, following a pioneering class-action lawsuit by victims of human rights abuses against the family of Ferdinand Marcos for crimes against humanity, Hilao v. Estate of Ferdinand Marcos, a United States district court in Hawaii found Ferdinand Marcos’ estate liable for torture, summary executions and disappearances.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE PROCESSES
Updated in May 2011
Updated in May 2011
Updated in May 2011
Philippines: United States class-action lawsuit
- Details
- Category: Mechanism
- Created on Thursday, 20 October 2011 23:35
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 22:33
- Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Written by Super User
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NAME OF MECHANISM
United States class-action lawsuit
PERIOD
24 September 1992 – 13 January 2011
RESULTS
On 25 January 1992, following a pioneering class-action lawsuit by victims of human rights abuses against the family of Ferdinand Marcos for crimes against humanity, Hilao v. Estate of Ferdinand Marcos, a United States district court in Hawaii found Ferdinand Marcos’ estate liable for torture, summary executions and disappearances.
In its judgements in 1994 and 1995, the district court ordered the Marcos estate to pay US$2 billion to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs did not receive the payments until March 2011 as a result of disputes over the Marcos’ assets [NY Times | 1 Mar 2011]. Throughout the dispute, the Philippine government maintained that “all Marcos property was stolen from the Filipino people” and contested any distribution to victims of human rights violations, claiming that according to law, the funds should be spent on “the comprehensive agrarian reform program” [Philippine Star | 16 Jan 2011].
On 13 January 2011, the class-action suit reached a conclusion when a US$7.5 million settlement against individuals controlling Texas and Colorado land bought with Marcos money was approved by US District Judge Manuel Real. A total of 7,526 eligible plaintiffs will receive US$1,000 each. The distribution of the money began in mid-February 2011 in the Davao region, with the assistance of the Human Rights Commission [ABC-CBN News | 14 Jan 2011]. By the end of March 2011, only 81 of 645 human rights victims in the region had received payments [Zambo Times | 23 Mar 2011].
Also in January 2011, the Hawaii district court held Imelda Marcos and Marcos’ son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., in contempt of court for refusing to provide information and for continuing to use frozen assets of the estate. The court ordered them to pay a fine of US$353.6 million to the victims [NY Times | 1 Mar 2011].
There are pending bills in the Philippine Congress to distribute funds to victims of the martial law. According to House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, President Aquino has stated that he “wants the bill passed under his administration” [Philippine Star | 16 Jan 2011].
BACKGROUND
The Philippines’ conflict, which led to martial law and gross human rights violations in the Marcos era, has its roots in the 1970s uprising of the Moro National Liberation Front, a separatist movement fighting for an independent Muslim Moro nation in the southern Philippines [BBC | 10 Aug 2007]. The conflict was deepened by the establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) in 1968 and countrywide support for the CPP’s military arm, the New People’s Army, as well as massive leftist unrest known as the First Quarter Storm.
In an effort to suppress the unrest, President Marcos issued Proclamation 1081 in September 1972, which suspended civil rights, imposed military authority and placed the Philippines under martial law. The majority of Filipinos initially supported martial law, but by the end of 1970s, opposition towards Marcos’ authoritarian rule began to grow. At the same time, the amount of gross human rights violations increased. In February 1986, a series of nonviolent revolutions and peaceful mass street demonstrations known as the People Power Revolution, or the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Revolution, toppled the Marcos administration and forced the president into exile. The newly elected president, Corazon Aquino, spearheaded the transitional justice processes in the Philippines [Philippine History].
SOURCES
[ABC-CBN News | 14 Jan 2011]
[BBC | 10 Aug 2007]
[New York Times | 1 Mar 2011]
[Philippine History]
[Philippine Star | 16 Jan 2011]
[Zambo Times | 23 Mar 2011]