Martial Law victims laud SC decision on Marcos-Robredo case
A group of martial law victims has lauded the Supreme Court (SC) for its decision that dismissed the election protest of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
“It is a strong rejection of their desperate attempts to wash off their bloody record of human rights violations and corruption during Martial Law," said Danilo Dela Fuente, spokesperson of the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA).
In a statement, Dela Fuente said the loss of the former lawmaker in the 2016 election showed the "people's strong opposition against historical lies propagated by the Marcoses and their cohorts to rehabilitate the image of the former dictator and his family."
"It is now clear that Marcos' baseless and malicious protest and accusations are mere tantrums of a brat who can't accept defeat," he said.
In 2016, Marcos filed an election protest against Robredo and challenged the proclamation of the latter as vice president. Robredo, in turn, filed a counter-protest. He alleged irregularities in the election.
Last Tuesday, February 16, the SC -- sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) -- announced that “the 15 members of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal unanimously dismissed the entire election protest….”
But Dela Fuente’s group claimed that the PET’s ruling is far from over for the former Martial Law victims.
“Justice is yet to be served. Imelda Marcos, despite being found guilty by the Sandiganbayan of amassing wealth from plundering the nation's coffers, is still free, while many elderly and sickly political prisoners are languishing behind bars due to trumped up cases,” he lamented.
“Many martial law victims and survivors have not been recognized and indemnified," he said.
He added that the “former political detainees during Marcos' bloody regime, are one with Filipino people in the struggle for justice, truth, and accountability.”
“We will remain steadfast in our commitment to hound the Marcoses and resist their desperate schemes to go back to power and evade accountability," he stressed.