THE COUNTRY honored the World War II veterans during the recent Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor. It was also be a reminder of the Philippine government’s continuous discrimination against Filipina comfort women and other victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese soldiers.
I recently stumbled upon an old photo of mine of the Kilometer 00 (Km 00) marker in Bagac, Bataan, which symbolizes the start of the so-called Bataan Death March.
Araw ng Kagitingan is observed every April 9 to mark the surrender of more than 76,000 Filipino and American troops to Japanese forces in Bataan in 1942.
Following the surrender, prisoners of war were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March — a grueling 105-kilometer trek from Bagac, Bataan to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.
During the march, prisoners received little food or water, and many died. They were subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings and torture.
On the march, the “sun treatment” was a common form of torture. Prisoners were forced to sit in sweltering direct sunlight without helmets or other head coverings. Anyone who asked for water was shot dead. Some men were told to strip naked or sit within sight of fresh, cool water.
Only about 54,000 of the 76,000 prisoners reached their destination as thousands died from starvation, dehydration, disease, and execution along the way.
Some of the survivors of the march include Ramon Bagatsing Sr., (17th Mayor of Manila from 1971 to 1986), actor and director Fernando Poe Sr., Ambassador Manuel Yan, Sr.; Brigadier General Vicente Lim; and breaststroke swimmer Teófilo E. Yldefonso (first Filipino and Southeast Asian to win an Olympic medal, and the first Filipino to win multiple medals).
The Veterans Law or Republic Act No. 6948 was enacted in 1990 granting benefits to veterans including pensions, educational assistance, medical care, and burial benefits, with provisions for non-service-connected pensions and disability compensation.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued on March 8, 2023 a decision that recognizes the discriminatory nature of the lack of support for female survivors of wartime conflict-related sexual violence.
While Philippine war veterans, who are mostly men, are entitled to special and esteemed treatment from the government, there was no such action with the comfort women.
On November 23, 1944, the women from Mapaniqui, Pampanga were ordered to walk to the Bahay na Pula in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, which became a barracks where they became victims of military sexual violence and slavery. Upon arriving at the mansion, the soldiers forcibly pulled the women, whose ages ranged from 13 to their early 20s, into dimly lit rooms where they took turns raping them.
In its landmark decision, the committee recognized that the Philippines has failed to address the system of wartime sexual slavery and its consequences for the survivors, the majority of whom are female.
This includes the absence of governmental action and programs by the Philippine Commission on Women, as well as neglecting to protect and maintain the memorial site of the “Bahay na Pula” (Red House) where the women were held hostage in 1945.
In contrast, the committee found that the state has taken actions in favor of mostly male wartime veterans, who have received a number of government benefits.
The CEDAW recommended that the state provide full reparation to the Malaya Lolas. This includes: (i) an acknowledgement of and official apology for the discrimination and damages they have suffered; (ii) restitution, rehabilitation and satisfaction measures aimed at restoring their dignity and reputation and at providing financial compensation corresponding to the damage and gravity of the violations suffered.
The committee also recommended the establishment of a fund for compensation and reparations, which all women survivors of the wartime sexual slavery can access, in order “to ensure the restoration of their dignity, value and personal liberty.”
The Philippine government argued that it did not commit acts that constitute continuous discrimination since there is substantial distinction and valid classification that warrant a difference in State-sanctioned benefits accorded to them.
While the sexual slavery victims and Philippine war veterans may have endured the same war, their individual experiences and involvement, as well as the very nature of their consequent sufferings from such are entirely different and distinct from one another.
It added that the entitlement of Philippine war veterans to certain benefits from the government does not automatically entail inequality in treatment between the two distinct groups.
Through the lack of State support received, the women were discriminated against, and publicly maligned, thus highlighting the State’s role in perpetrating and perpetuating gender inequity post-conflict.
Continuous gender-based discrimination against survivors of conflict-related sexual violence is as structural as the violence itself.
Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho is the junior partner who heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-866-578./PN
