Diokno on Marcoses: We never demanded apology because it should be freely given

Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno and his family won’t demand an apology from Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos and the rest of the Marcoses for the atrocities during the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law regime.

Diokno, whose father and then-opposition Senator Pepe Diokno was imprisoned during Martial Law, made the position after he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in the 2019 polls.

Interestingly, Diokno arrived to file his COC on the second table while Imee  was filing hers on the first table.

Based on records by Amnesty International, Marcos’ Martial Law rule sent 70,000 people to prison, tortured around 34,000 individuals and left at least 3,000 people dead.

“I have never asked for an apology and my family has never asked for an apology [from the Marcoses]. That is because an apology is not demanded. It is freely given,” Diokno told reporters.

“Despite the fake news going around, we all know the truth. We all know what happened. The court documents are there, both in the Philippines and the international fora. There’s Bantayog ng mga Bayani [where those who lost their lives during Martial Law were memorialized], and there’s the Human Rights Compensation Law,” Diokno added.

Diokno was referring to the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act passed in 2012 which mandates the Philippine government to compensate the victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law years such as summary executions, enforced disappearances and torture using the P10 billion ill-gotten wealth of the late president Marcos and his family retrieved by the Philippine government from the Swiss bank.

Aside from the Human Rights Compensation Law, the US federal court in Hawaii awarded $1.964 billion worth of Marcos’ assets to the victims of the human rights violations committed during 20-year Marcos dictatorship way back February 1995.

The Philippine Supreme Court also ruled in July 2003 that the 10,000 claimants in the suit in the above mentioned Hawaii case are entitled to compensation from the $10 billion Swiss bank deposits of Marcos, which has been deemed ill-gotten by the High Court in the same ruling.

‘Marcoses not liable’

Before Diokno’s press conference, Imee said their family won’t admit to any sin because their family is not liable for what happened during Martial Law.

“Ilang beses na rin ako nag-apologize sa kung sino mang nasaktan sa hindi inaasahang mga pangyayari. Pero sinabi na rin ni Bongbong at paulit ulit na sinasabi ng nanay ko, hindi naman pupwede iyon,” Imee said.

Bongbong is her brother and former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. while her mother is Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos.

Diokno’s fellow Senate bet and Liberal Party nominee, Lorenzo Tañada III, meanwhile, stressed that the Marcoses should be held liable for the Martial Law regime because the Marcos dictatorship era is not just about victimizing one family. 

“This is not about Aquino vs. Marcos. There are many other nameless victims of Martial Law. This is People vs. Marcos,” Tañada said.

“How can the country move on if there is no acknowledgment of sins of the Marcoses?,” Tañada added. — RSJ, GMA News