GABRIELA RESOLUTION SEEKS APOLOGY, COMPENSATION FROM JAPAN FOR WWII COMFORT WOMEN

13 August 2007

For Reference: REP. LIZA LARGOZA MAZA 0920-9134540
REP. LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Jang Monte (Public Information Officer) 0915-6463009

GABRIELA RESOLUTION SEEKS APOLOGY, COMPENSATION FROM JAPAN FOR WWII COMFORT WOMEN

The women's partylist group GABRIELA has filed a resolution for the Philippine government to demand from the Japanese government a formal acknowledgment and an apology as well as an acceptance of its responsibility over the sexual slavery of young women by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

"It has been over two decades since Filipino comfort women first found the courage to step up, reveal their ordeal and seek justice. Many of them have already died. It is indeed high time that the Philippine government take concrete steps to support our comfort women," said GABRIELA Representative Liza Largoza-Maza.

Rep. Maza notes that both the governments of Taiwan and South Korea have taken initiatives at the state level to confront the Japanese government for acknowledgement and compensation of victims in their respective countries. "Last month, the US House of Representatives has likewise passed Resolution 121 calling on Japan to acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility for its war crimes. What has the Philippine government done for our comfort women?"

Reps. Maza and Luz Ilagan, proponents of the measure agree that by passing the resolution, "the Philippine government is demonstrating its earnest interest to help the Filipino comfort women achieve the justice they deserve and reclaim their dignity and that of the Filipino people."

Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan also adds that passing the resolution will help boost initiatives of Japanese legislators seeking to pass a bill entitled "Promotion of Resolution for Issues Concerning Victims of Wartime Sexual Coercion Act". The bill was introduced last June 9, 2004 to the House of Councilors in Japan, jointly by the
Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, and by independent senators.

Rep. Ilagan also explained that the bill included measures to restore the honor of the so-called comfort women, which would also entail the announcement of an apology for the violation and dignity of the victims of wartime sexual slavery and the implementation of necessary means to immediately restore their honor, including
monetary compensation.

The GABRIELA solons said they are gathering more signatures to support the resolution. The women's partylist group has also filed House Bill 1136 "An Act Providing for the Inclusion in the History Books of Elementary, Secondary and Collegiate Curricula the Lives and Heroism of Filipino Comfort Women during the Japanese Occupation and Appropriating Funds Therefore".

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ____

INTRODUCED BY GABRIELA WOMEN'S PARTY REPRESENTATIVES LIZA LARGOZA- MAZA AND LUZVIMINDA ILAGAN, REP. EDUARDO C. ZIALCITA, BAYAN MUNA REPRESENTATIVES SATUR C. OCAMPO AND TEODORO A. CASINO, AND ANAK PAWIS REPRESENTATIVE CRISPIN BELTRAN

RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT
THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT URGES THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN TO FORMALLY
AKNOWLEDGE, APOLOGIZE AND ACCEPT ITS RESPONSIBILITY OVER THE SEXUAL
SLAVERY OF YOUNG WOMEN COMMONLY KNOWN AS COMFORT WOMEN BY THE
JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II AND PROVIDE COMPENSATION
TO THE VICTIMS IN THE LIGHT OF THE ADOPTION BY THE U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF HOUSE RESOLUTION 121 WHICH STATES THAT JAPAN
SHOULD FORMALLLY AKNOWLEDGE, APOLOGIZE AND ACCEPT HISTORICAL
RESPONSIBILITY IN CLEAR AND UNEQUIVOCAL MANNER OVER ITS ARMED
FORCE'S COERCION OF YOUNG WOMEN INTO SEXUAL SLAVERY DURING ITS
COLONIAL AND WARTIME OCCUPATION OF ASIA, AND IN THE LIGHT OF THE
LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN THE HOUSE OF COUNCILORS OF JAPAN SEEKING
APOLOGY, COMPENSATION AND IMMEDIATE RESOLUTION OF ISSUES CONCERNING
COMFORT WOMEN

WHEREAS, the recognition of human rights is a valuable tenet in the
1987 Philippine Constitution which states: "the State values the
dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights" (Article II, Section II);

WHEREAS, it has been more than a decade since the World War II
comfort women started clamoring for an official apology and legal
redress from the government of Japan for the unimaginable suffering
they experienced in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government recognized the issues concerning
comfort women as a social problem only in June 1990;

WHEREAS, after realizing the importance of the matter, the Japanese
government proceeded to conduct a research, after which, it admitted
its involvement in the sexual slavery case, expressed its remorse
for the matter of comfort women and apologized for it in August 1993;

WHEREAS, Japanese public and private officials have recently
expressed their desire to retract or water down its 1993 statement
by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the "comfort women". The
1993 statement of Secretary Kono expressed the sincere apologies of
the government of Japan for the ordeal of the women victims of
military sexual slavery by the Japan Imperial Army;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government claimed that it had no obligation
to provide compensation for the victims since the matter was already
settled when the San Francisco Treaty and other bilateral treaties
were signed;

WHEREAS, the UN Report of Miss Radhika Coomaraswamy, the then
Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, to the Commission of
Human Rights in 1996 urged the Japanese to compensate the former
comfort women while Miss Gay McDougal's UN Report in 1998 severely
criticized the Japanese government in its handling of the cases of
the comfort women and strongly recommended that Japan raise the
issue of compensation to the state-level;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government's response to the mounting
international pressure was the creation of the Asian Women's Fund
(AWF) which collected "sympathy money" from the Japanese citizens,
thereby evading its legal responsibilities as a state in addressing
the cases of the comfort women. The Asian Women's Fund has raised
US$5,700,000 to extend "atonement" from the Japanese people to the
comfort women. The said fund ended on March 31, 2007 and the fund
was to be disbanded on that date;

WHEREAS, in April 1998, the South Korean government issued an
announcement in which it insisted that the Japanese government
should answer its liabilities in the state level, even as the South
Korean government decided to give the former comfort women
approximately 3 million yen of monetary support;

WHEREAS, the Taiwanese government took similar measures by
conferring 2 million yen for the former comfort women to substitute
for AWF's money while seeking a state level compensation and apology
from the Japanese government;

WHEREAS, a bill entitled "Promotion of Resolution for Issues
Concerning Victims of Wartime Sexual Coercion Act" was introduced to
the House of Councilors in Japan, jointly by the Democratic Party of
Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party,
and independent senators last June 9, 2004. The same bill was filed
last March 21 and November 14, 2001 and January 21, 2003. However,
the House of Councilors failed to adopt said bill.

WHEREAS, the main objective of the bill filed at the Japanese House
of Councilors was to take immediate steps to restore the dignity and
honor of women victims of wartime sexual slavery of the Japanese
Imperial Army during the World War II. It aimed to provide the
necessary fundamental grounds for the resolution of the issues
concerning the victims of wartime sexual coercion that will improve
the relationship of the peoples of the concerned nations and will
enable Japan to occupy an honored place in the international
community;

WHEREAS, the bill indicated measures to restore the honor which
includes the announcement of the Japanese government of an apology
for the violation and dignity of the victims of wartime sexual
slavery and the implementation of necessary means to immediately
restore their honor, including monetary compensation;

WHEREAS, the same measure will again be filed at the House of
Councilors of Japan;

WHEREAS, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea had already
approved their resolution recommending the Japanese Diet to consider
and enact the bill on the promotion for the resolution of issues
concerning victims of wartime sexual coercion;

WHEREAS, the U.S. House of Representatives, on July 31, 2007,
approved its House Resolution 121 expressing the sense of the House
of Representatives that the Government of Japan should formally
acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a
clear and inequivocal manner for its Imperrial Armed Force's
coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world
as "comfort women", during its colonial and wartime occupation of
Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of
World War II;

WHEREAS, the Government of Japan is a signatory to the 1921
International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women
and Children and supported the 2000 United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 1325 on Women, Peace and Security which recognized the
unique impact of armed conflict on women;

WHEREAS, by following the step of the U.S. House of Representatives
in passing Resolution No. 121, the Philippine government is
demonstrating its earnest interest to help the Filipino comfort
women achieve the justice they deserve and reclaim their dignity and
that of the Filipino people;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
express its sense that the Philippine government urges the
government of Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize and accept
its responsibility over the sexual slavery of young women commonly
known as comfort women by the Japanese Imperial Army during World
War II and provide compensation to the victims in the light of the
adoption by the U.S. House of Representatives of House Resolution
121 which states that Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize
and accept historical responsibility in clear and unequivocal manner
over its armed force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery
during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia, and in the
light of the legislative initiatives in the House of Councilors of
Japan seeking apology, compensation and immediate resolution of
issues concerning comfort women

Adopted,

LIZA LARGOZA MAZA LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN

SATUR C. OCAMPO EDUARDO ZIALCITA

TEODORO A. CASINO CRISPIN B. BELTRAN