Gov't responds to Malaya Lolas' concerns --- PBBM
Published May 13, 2023 12:59 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he has ordered relevant government agencies to look into how the Philippines could appropriately address the concerns of Malaya Lolas, an organization composed of former "comfort women" or victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese imperial army during World War II.
*File photo*
Marcos said this as the Philippines responded to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) report in March that the Philippines failed to assist the Malaya Lolas in filing claims against Japan. In a statement, the President said that the Philippines upholds women's rights and pushes for gender equality as inscribed in its laws, treaty obligations, and other international human rights instruments. He said the Philippine government was already undertaking actions on CEDAW's views on the case of the Malaya Lolas. "Therefore, I have instructed the relevant Government agencies to look into how we can appropriately address the concerns of the Malaya Lolas," Marcos ensured. "Government agencies concerned are formulating a comprehensive response to the CEDAW Committee and will submit this within the required period. We commit to undertaking measures and finding ways to help them live better lives as an expression of our continued deep solidarity with them and of our outmost respect," he added. The Philippines has six months to respond to CEDAW, as provided for under the Optional Protocol to the Committee. The CEDAW recommended that the complainants receive from the State party "full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology and material and moral damages" for the "continuous discrimination that they suffered and restitution, rehabilitation, and satisfaction, including the restoration of their dignity and reputation." This includes financial reparation proportionate to the physical, psychological, and material damage the comfort women suffered and the gravity of the violations of their rights. In his statement, President Marcos said that while the government maintains its previous position on the admissibility and merits of the case in view of national jurisprudence and treaty obligations, the administration recognizes the grave atrocities Filipino women endured during the wars and sincerely commiserates with them "as they bear the long-term and irreversible physical and psychological effects of the war." "We honor their indomitable spirit and dignity in taking this important cause forward through these years," he said. "I wish to underscore that the Administration upholds the primacy of human rights and values the well-being of all Filipino women and girls," he added. In March, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said [the government was committed to promoting women's rights and would look into CEDAW's report and submit a response](https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/11/ph-to-study-un-panel-s-report-on-comfort-women-reparations).
*File photo*
Marcos said this as the Philippines responded to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) report in March that the Philippines failed to assist the Malaya Lolas in filing claims against Japan. In a statement, the President said that the Philippines upholds women's rights and pushes for gender equality as inscribed in its laws, treaty obligations, and other international human rights instruments. He said the Philippine government was already undertaking actions on CEDAW's views on the case of the Malaya Lolas. "Therefore, I have instructed the relevant Government agencies to look into how we can appropriately address the concerns of the Malaya Lolas," Marcos ensured. "Government agencies concerned are formulating a comprehensive response to the CEDAW Committee and will submit this within the required period. We commit to undertaking measures and finding ways to help them live better lives as an expression of our continued deep solidarity with them and of our outmost respect," he added. The Philippines has six months to respond to CEDAW, as provided for under the Optional Protocol to the Committee. The CEDAW recommended that the complainants receive from the State party "full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology and material and moral damages" for the "continuous discrimination that they suffered and restitution, rehabilitation, and satisfaction, including the restoration of their dignity and reputation." This includes financial reparation proportionate to the physical, psychological, and material damage the comfort women suffered and the gravity of the violations of their rights. In his statement, President Marcos said that while the government maintains its previous position on the admissibility and merits of the case in view of national jurisprudence and treaty obligations, the administration recognizes the grave atrocities Filipino women endured during the wars and sincerely commiserates with them "as they bear the long-term and irreversible physical and psychological effects of the war." "We honor their indomitable spirit and dignity in taking this important cause forward through these years," he said. "I wish to underscore that the Administration upholds the primacy of human rights and values the well-being of all Filipino women and girls," he added. In March, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said [the government was committed to promoting women's rights and would look into CEDAW's report and submit a response](https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/11/ph-to-study-un-panel-s-report-on-comfort-women-reparations).