Marcos regime victims hail U.S. court decision

Marcos regime victims hail U.S. court decision

MANILA (UPI): Some 10,000 human rights victims who suffered
under the two-decade rule of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos
are hailing a United States appellate court's decision to award
them nearly US$2 billion in damages.

Lawyers for the victims, collectively known as Claimants 1081
Inc., say the decision affirms Marcos' liability under
international law.

Robert Swift, lead counsel for the group, also called on the
Marcoses to live up to their responsibilities. Swift says, "All
that remains is for the Marcoses and the Philippine government to
face reality and allow the victims to collect their judgment from
the Marcos' wealth."

A Hawaiian court, in three separate decisions in 1992 and
1994, awarded the victims nearly $2 billion in damages. The
ruling was challenged by the Marcoses in the Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals in Los Angeles, which has re-affirmed the decision.

Thousands of activists and anti-Marcos protesters disappeared
during Marcos' rule, many of whom were believed tortured and
executed. The late president also allegedly looted more than $5
billion from government coffers, including some $475 million
stashed in two Swiss banks.

Earlier attempts to settle claims on the loot, including that
of the Philippine government, bogged down early this year.