MikeLigalig.com

By Rainier Allan Ronda  (The Philippine Star)

The 10,000 victims of human rights violations during the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos have won a $10-million settlement deal with several holding companies controlled by businessman and Marcos crony, the late Jose Yao Campos, who owned real estate interests in Texas and Colorado in the US.

Lawyer Rod Domingo Jr., the local lawyer of the victims, announced yesterday that a federal court in Texas has already given preliminary approval to the $10-million settlement in favor of his clients to compensate them for the abuses committed against them during the 20-year rule of the late strongman.

Domingo admitted that the $10-million award was a pittance compared to the $2-billion compensation that US District Court of Hawaii Judge Manuel Real had earlier awarded to the victims in 2005.

Domingo said that some 7,600 of the 10,000 victims that are still alive and eligible to get the claims are bound to get $1,000 each as a result of the new settlement.

“It’s the best that we can get under the circumstances,” Domingo said yesterday in a press briefing held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani compound in Quezon City where he announced the settlement.

“This is sufficient already,” said Domingo, noting that after starting the litigation in 1986, the settlement was the biggest so far, with the first and lone previous one being $1 million that a Hawaii court forfeited from the Marcos estate and awarded to the victims.

Domingo and his US counterpart, Robert Swift, have filed a claim for the Campos properties to partially settle the $2-billion award from the Hawaii court.

The litigation in Texas focused on 4,000 acres of land near Fort Worth, which was purchased with Marcos assets in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Campos.

Campos had excluded the Texas and Colorado properties from the assets he turned over to the Philippine government in 1987 under a compromise agreement, which allowed him to keep total control of his United Laboratories (Unilab) drug company, and many properties in Mandaluyong.

In exchange, Campos turned over real estate companies holding title to the vast Payanig sa Pasig land at the Ortigas business district, and shares of stock in PLDT, among others.

“This finishes the litigation,” Domingo said.

Domingo said that they had filed separate cases in Texas and Colorado for the properties. The holding companies of the Campos camp had offered the settlement in exchange for their clients dropping their claim on the properties.

“As of this date, the $10 million is deposited with the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas,” Domingo said.

“On Nov. 16, there will be a hearing for the final approval of the Court to give those who will oppose the settlement time to comment,” Domingo said.

The lawyer said that qualified members of the class victims should expect to get the notices to inform them of the details of the settlement in the mail in the next few days.

“Please keep the notices. There will be two copies, one in English and one in Filipino,” Domingo said.

Domingo pointed out that the victory gained with the settlement was just from one crony.

“Umpisa lang ito (This is just the start). This is just one crony. There is one other claim that I can’t speak of right now,” Domingo said, explaining that they might preempt the case and forewarn the concerned crony of their legal strategy.

The class suit of 10,000 Marcos human rights victims has faced legal obstacles in collecting the $2-billion award, with the challenge mainly from the Philippine government, which has always fought to have the Marcos ill-gotten wealth forfeited in its favor.

All the forfeited ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and their cronies go to fund the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as decreed by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

“This is a sweet victory for Filipino victims of human rights abuses,” Swift, the lead counsel of the class victims, said in a statement.

“We struggled with scant resources for years to overcome many legal obstacles. We look forward to distributing the money to Filipinos as soon as the US Court will allow. The symbolic significance of recovery for the class victims of abuses who suffered during the Philippine martial law years from the despotic and illegal acts of a former leader and the real life monetary assistance to deserving Filipinos will be of great help to them,” Swift said.

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