Public consultations on Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that the Claims Board and the Memorial Commission drafted are now happening in Samar and Leyte, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announced today.
These public consultations will continue nationwide. It started in the National Capital Region last month.
The law mandates Human Rights Violations Victims Claim Board (HRVVCB), otherwise known as the Claims Board, and the Memorial Commission, two agencies attached but not under the CHR, to recognize and give reparations to the martial law survivors, victims and their relatives. The martial law claimants belong to a generation who stood up for democracy and freedom against former President Ferdinand Marcos’ one-man rule.
The IRR will spell out the features of RA 10368 otherwise known as the Reparation Law. The Claims Board has a brief two-year life.
As soon as the IRR is finalized, there will be a six-month period for all legitimate claimants to file claims for reparations and recognition with the Claims Board. This information will be published in newspapers and announced over the radio and television. This period will commence from the time IRR becomes effective. It will be implemented 15 days after the last publication of the IRR.
This period has not started as the nine-person HRVVCB is in its organizational stage yet- setting up its office, forming the secretariat and claims systems.
The Memorial Commission, on the other hand, is tasked to memorialize the fight for freedom and demoncracy by establishing a museum, writing stories of martial law heroes and collecting artifacts and documents for archiving. CHR Chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales is the present Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairperson. National Historical Commission Chairperson Maria Serena Diokno is the Co-Chair. BOT members are Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chairperson Felipe De Leon Jr. and University of the Philippines Librarian Rodolfo Tarlit.
Martial Law Files 