Finding Comfort in Compensation

As history class had taught every Filipino that we were once occupied by the Japanese empire from 1942 until 1945. During this regime, many Filipino women were abducted, captured, or taken away and was put into what they called “comfort stations” wherein this women were subjected to sexual acts as to pleasure the Japanese soldiers, enter Comfort women.

               Fast forward decades later, Lila Filipina, an Organization formed for these comfort women, asked our government that they must be compensated for all the trauma and pain they suffered during the Japanese Era. These women asked President Aquino to deal with this matter when the Emperor of Japan visited the country. Lila Pilipina executive director Rechilda Extremadura lambasted President Aquino for the injustice that the comfort women continue to suffer. She said nothing has materialized after Aquino’s statement in 2010 that he would task then newly-appointed Ambassador Emmanuel Lopez to study the matter and come into a compromise on the issue of official apology. The Organization demands the president to show documents to such arrangements.

               In my opinion these Comfort women deserve the compensation. First of all let us determine the kind of Government back then. During the Japanese occupation there was a De facto government. According to Justice Isagani Cruz on his Political law textbook, he defined there that a De facto  government is government of fact, it actually exercise power or control but without legal tie. It was also stated in the book that a kind of de facto government was established and maintained by military forces who invade and occupy a territory of the military forces who invade and occupy a territory of the enemy in the course of war. Justice Cruz also reiterated that it has been stated before that the Constitution of the Commonwealth, being a political law, was not effective in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. But non political laws like the Civil Code and the Insurance Act remained in force during that period except only where they were amended or superseded by affirmative act of the belligerent occupant, stated in the case of Alcantara vs. Director of Prisons.

               With this said, Under Article 20 of the Civil Code, which states that Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same. Another provision, Article 21 of the same code states that; any person who willfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage. Being that the Civil Code effective back then even during the occupation, these women have the right to their compensation.

               These women, these lolas, suffered too much in their time. They lost everything, they were injured and they were subjected to such inhumane acts that were willfully and intentionally brought upon them, lucky survived and now ask for what the need. I really hope President Aquino hear their pleas and prepare the necessary steps to answer their woes. For me, these surviving lolas should be considered heroes, veterans who struggled in times of war and hardship. They may not fought the physical battle but they fought the moral, psychological battle.