BBC News, 25
February 2013
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| Filipinos have been marking the 27th anniversary of the uprising which ousted Marcos |
The
government has set aside at least 10bn pesos ($224m: £148m) to compensate
thousands of people who suffered rights abuses in the Marcos era.
The money
was recovered from Swiss bank accounts secretly maintained by Marcos during his
20 years in power.
President
Benigno Aquino said the move would "right the wrongs of the past".
"We
may not bring back the time stolen from martial law victims, but we can assure
them of the state's recognition of their sufferings that will help bring them
closer to the healing of their wounds," he said at a ceremony in Manila.
Marcos
introduced martial law, under which thousands of people were detained, tortured
or "disappeared" by the security forces.
The law
marks 27 years since Marcos was ousted in the country's "People
Power" revolution, which was headed by Mr Aquino's mother, Corazon Aquino.
It calls
for the establishment of a human rights board, which will assess each claim and
award compensation accordingly.
The bill's
sponsor, Senator Francis Escudero, said it would also offer non-monetary
compensation where needed, including social and psychological assistance, the
Philippines Star reports.
Loretta Ann
Rosales, head of the Philippines rights commission who was herself tortured
under Marcos, said the law was "essential in rectifying the abuses"
of the era and would allow victims a sense of justice, AFP reports.
However
another rights campaigner, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, told AFP there were "so
many victims that when you divide it to everyone it will not result to
much".
Marcos died
in exile in Hawaii in 1989.
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