Martial Law victims warned vs. persons posing as HRVCB members

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday warned the public against groups posing as members of the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board (HRVCB) tasked to process the monetary claim of Martial Law victims.

CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit said the commission has received reports that some groups are approaching denied claimants to ask for money in exchange for processing their compensation anew.

"Sa information po na may bago pong pagproseso ng applications, hindi po 'yun totoo. Kailangan suriin nila 'yung impormasyon na dumadating sa kanila. 'Pag humingi na po ng pera o bayad sa application, magtaka na po tayo," Dumpit said in a press briefing.

Dumpit urged human rights victims and their families to confirm first before the CHR, the police, or with other government agencies on whether these groups are accredited to handle their claims.

Claimants 1081 executive director Zeny Mique said their group, composed of victims of abuses under the rule of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has received information that several individuals claim to be members of the "Human Rights Victims' Claims Association" on Facebook.

She mentioned a certain Norma Payacag and Riza Ocenar Lumague as examples of individuals who stand as leaders of the anomalous association in Bicol and Western Samar, respectively.

Mique said some victims were even charged around P50 to P10,000 to facilitate the processing of their compensation.

"Itong grupo na ito at saka yung iba pang scammers na nambibiktima pang muli sa mga nabiktima na ng Martial Law... na-deny na nga yung claimants na 'to at ngayon nabibiktima pa sila uli," Mique said.

She said they have yet to coordinate with the Philippine National Police on the arrest or filing of appropriate charges against the group, saying they wanted the CHR to first release an official statement and an inquiry on the incident.

Stale checks

The HRVCB ended its functions as the agency tasked to process the reparation and recognition of human rights abuses on May 12, 2018. It has granted compensation to 11,103 claimants out of 75,730 applications. 

Former HRVCB chairperson Lina Sarmiento said appeals and new applications can no longer be processed until a new law is passed by Congress. She, nonetheless, said only 177 checks remain unclaimed at Land Bank of the Philippines.

"There is no law, at the moment, giving authority to any entity to entertain these appeals, or to address the problem of the unclaimed or unencashed checks that have gone stale," Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento said there is a joint resolution pending in Congress that seeks to extend the validity of the unclaimed checks until December 31, 2019.

Dumpit said the resolution is still pending in the Senate after the extension was approved by the House of Representatives. 

Sarmiento, however, said Land Bank needs a government agency which will write the checks anew and determine the proper recipient for the compensation. —KBK, GMA News