Deal for Marcos
victims doubted

The Philippine president pledged
compensation Tuesday

A Hawaii attorney who represents more than 9,500 human-rights victims of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos says he has "no optimism" that the Philippine government will follow through with its pledge this week to compensate his clients.

"Almost nothing has been done for any of the victims," said Jon Van Dyke, also a professor of international law at the University of Hawaii. "I have no optimism that there will be a favorable outcome."

On Tuesday, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced she was committed to compensating Marcos' victims and that $200 million from his Swiss bank accounts has been set aside for that purpose.

It is the first time the Philippine government has agreed to compensate those or the families of those who were tortured, murdered or who "disappeared" during Marcos' reign, Van Dyke said.

But he also said that given all the failed attempts to get compensation, he has little faith that the Philippine government will come through.

"The victims are dying, they're old, they're poor. We need to get these people some money," he added.

"The international law is crystal clear that even an enlightened reform government has the duty to compensate victims of a former oppressive government ... but in the Philippines there's been denial about this responsibility."

Van Dyke and his plaintiffs have been fighting for 19 years to get compensation for human-rights violations during Marcos' 20-year regime.

In 1995, Van Dyke helped win a $2 billion judgment in a class-action lawsuit filed by 9,539 Marcos human-rights victims, but none of the victims has received any money because ownership of the funds has been disputed.

The victims were near getting compensation in 1999, when Marcos' family reached a $150 million settlement with the Philippine government.

But Philippine courts refused to approve the settlement.

Van Dyke said there are still unanswered questions about Arroyo's compensation plan, including when money will be doled out. He is also concerned about talk that victims could have to re-prove their eligibility for compensation.

"People for years have been working on this," he said. "It's simply unfair to make these victims re-prove their case."