HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Victims Thrice Over

The 10,000 victims of martial law brutality are victims thrice over: First, by the brutality of the Marcos dictatorship; second, by the long wait for justice; and third, by the callousness of the Macapagal-Arroyo government.

BY DABET CASTAÑEDA
Bulatlat.com

Cecilio Bejer was in his late ‘20s when he served as a full-time urban poor organizer in 1976, the fourth year of Marcos’ martial law regime.

He had been to almost every house in what is known as the Camanava area, which consists of the four municipalities in northern Manila – Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela. Camanava was known as a hotbed of radicalism and anti-Marcos activists at the time, with a big number of political activists being arrested from here. 

Bejer directly felt the sting of martial rule when he was arrested and detained for the first time in 1978 for his organizing work. He was released after a few days.

Bejer still went back to organizing only to be arrested again on July 2, 1980.  At around 5 p.m., he and six of his colleagues were picked up by elements of the Military Intelligence and Security Group (MISG) and the Barangay Security and Defense unit (BSDU). 

He remembers vividly how he was interrogated for more than an hour. “Pinagbintangan pa akong drug addict dahil dun sa mga gamot na dala ko” (I was also accused of being a drug addict because of the medicines I had with me), Bejer said during an interview with Bulatlat.com in his house in Caloocan.

Just before he was arrested, Bejer was confined in a hospital due to weak lungs and anemia, thus the arsenal of medicines he was carrying. “Kaya mahina pa ang katawan ko nung nahuli ako” (I was still weak when arrested), he said.

His lung ailment was aggravated by the torture he suffered from the hands of the military.  “Sinikmuraan ako kaya nahilo ako at natumba.  Tapos, sumuka na ako ng dugo kasi binugbog na nila ako” (I was hit in the abdomen and I felt dizzy and collapsed. Then I vomited blood and they continued to beat me up), he recalls.

He and his colleagues were transferred from one detention cell to another until they were brought to Camp Panopio in Quezon City on the fifth day since their arrest. They were detained together with common criminals for six months until they were released. Like thousands of others who were picked up and tortured by the Marcos police and military, no charges were slapped on Bejer and his group.

A case against the dictator

Bejer’s story is just one of the thousands of shocking accounts of brutality under the fascist Marcos dictatorship. His story and the accounts of torture, salvaging, rape and involuntary disappearances during martial law pushed a group of former political prisoners to initiate a class action suit against the dictator after Marcos fell from power in 1986.

The class action suit was filed at the Hawaii Federal Court in 1992. It has 10 named plaintiffs including Adora Faye de Vera who was declared missing for a year only to surface with her story that a military officer turned her into a concubine during her disappearance. Another was Celsa Hilao who lost her daughter Liliosa to military men who gang-raped and killed her during martial rule. A total of 9,539 victims joined the class suit against the dictator.

Bejer however was a late filer. He said. “Nung una kasi, parang hindi naman ako naniwala na mananalo at mababayaran kami” (At first, I did not believe that we would win and get compensation). But just the same, he went to the Selda office in Quezon City and filled up the claim forms on July 23, 1992, the last day of filing.

Anticipation

It was a bitter-sweet victory for the victims when the positive verdict of the Hawaii Federal Court came out in 1992. 

Then when the Hawaii court finally ruled in 1994 to pay the victims as part of their indemnification, Bejer said he could not hide his anticipation to said claim.  “Hindi ko naman maiwasan na umasa.  Talagang nag-ilusyon ako na magtatayo ng negosyo, bibili ng kotse,” he said.  “Pero inilalaan ko sana para sa edukasyon ng mga bata,” he added. 

Today, at 54, Bejer has never recovered from his weak lungs. It is his wife, Lilian, who works to fend for the family.  Bejer attends to the household chores. 

Just a few days ago, he had another bout of blood vomiting. But instead of buying medicines, Bejer prefers to spend the money on his children’s needs.  “Minsan may gamot, mas madalas ang wala” (At times I have medicine but most of the time, we couldn’t afford to buy them), he said. 

Thrice over

Bejer is not the only one who looked forward to the indemnification.  He said he knew of some colleagues who borrowed money from private lenders and promised to pay as soon as they were indemnified. He knew of cases in the provinces wherein the beneficiaries sold some of their property to get to Manila to follow up the case and payment for indemnification. 

In a separate interview with Bulatlat.com, Selda’s former chairperson Danilo Vizmanos said, “The long wait should be over for Marcos victims and the entire Filipino people.  We are victims thrice over: First by marcos’ cruelty, second by the long wait for justice and third by the callousness of the Macapagal-Arroyo government.”

Vizmanos said the apparent imminent loss of the money that is rightfully theirs is a testament to Macapagal-Arroyo’s unwillingness to help the victims attain justice and indemnification. Bulatlat.com

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