“WE do not want war. If there is war, what we experienced may also happen to the future generations,” said Filipina comfort woman Lola Estelita Dy of Lila Filipina.
I joined the assembly of Lila Filipina at the Raha Sulayman Park in Malate on March 4, 2023, as they rang bells for peace and justice.
Lola Estelita (92) and Lola Narcisa Claveria (91) were 14 and 12 years old, respectively, when they became victims of Japanese military sexual violence and sexual slavery during the Second World War.
They held “No to War of Aggression” signages as they expressed alarm over recent reports on the formation of a US-Japan-Philippines security agreement in light of intensifying military tensions between the US and China in the Asia-Pacific region.
Four days later, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) released on International Women’s Day a decision on the complaint by the Malaya Lolas, which found that the “Philippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered.”
The Committee pointed out that the Philippine government failed to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to prohibit all discrimination against women and protect women’s rights on an equal basis with men.
It noted that while Philippine war veterans, who are mostly men, are entitled to special and esteemed treatment from the government, such as educational benefits, health care benefits, old age, disability and death pensions, there was no such action with the women victims of sexual violence and slavery.
The Committee found such actions as a breach of the Philippines’ obligations under the CEDAW as a State Party.
The Committee recommended that the victims must be provided with “full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology, and material and moral damages” proportionate to the physical, psychological, and material damage suffered by them and the gravity of the violation of their rights experienced.
The decision also recommended the preservation of Bahay na Pula, or the establishment of another space to commemorate the suffering of the victims and honor their struggle for justice.
Built in 1929, it is a big, ancient two-floor house standing alone on a hacienda. It was made largely of wood and painted red on the outside, giving the house its name.
On November 23, 1944, the Imperial Japanese Army attacked Mapaniqui in Candaba, Pampanga, a suspected bailiwick of Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap).
The women were ordered to walk to the Bahay na Pula in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, which became a barracks where they became victims of military sexual violence and slavery. Upon reaching the mansion, the soldiers dragged the women, ranging in age from 13 to early 20s, into dark rooms and took turns raping them. The victims have spent their lives in misery, having endured physical injuries, pain and disability, and mental and emotional suffering.
The Malaya Lolas was established after the women broke their silence in August 1996, four years after Maria Rosa Luna Henson made public her ordeal as a “comfort woman.”
In 2014, the Supreme Court finally denied the petition filed by Malaya Lolas to declare the Philippine government guilty of grave abuse of discretion for refusing to espouse their claims for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Malaya Lolas claim that since 1998, they have approached the Executive Department through the DOJ, DFA, and OSG, requesting assistance in filing claims against the Japanese officials and military officers who ordered the establishment of the “comfort women” stations in the Philippines.
The Court ruled that while it commiserates with the sufferings of the women of Mapaniqui, this, allegedly, is one instance where there is a violation of right but bereft of a legal remedy. The Court also said that while rape is prohibited, there is no non-derogable obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish those who committed mass rape as a war crime.
The UN decision also recommended for the Philippine government to “embrace a sensitive understanding of human rights violations endured by these women and prevent its recurrence through the educational system’s institutions and curricula.”
The Commission on Human Rights urged the putting back of the comfort women statue that once stood near Manila Bay, which was removed in 2018.
From the more than 200 documented survivors in the late 1990s, less than 50 Filipino comfort women are still alive.
The dwindling number highlights a sense of urgency for them to receive a formal, unequivocal public apology and just compensation from Japan as well as accurate historical inclusion while their voices can still be heard.
Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.