Former detainees and victims of the Marcos dictatorship urged the government to immediately implement the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, as they pay tribute to two anti-dictatorship activists who recently died.

The Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda) said the Aquino administration still has to form a claims board, six months after the President signed the law. As stipulated in the law, the claims board will evaluate and recognize the victims of the Marcos dictatorship.

“Malacañang has a lot of explaining to do, not only to the victims but to the general public, why there is so much delay in the formation of the claims board,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chaiperson of Selda.

Selda pressed for this as two Martial Law veteran-activists died due to illnesses during the past week: theater and film artist Behn Cervantes and former Marikina Rep. Romeo Candazo.

Enriquez revealed that Selda had nominated Candazo to the claims board, just after President Aquino signed the law.

The group also decried that there appears to be “efforts of some quarters” to exclude Selda in the claims board.

Candazo was also a member of the first board of Selda, together with Fidel Agcaoili, Julieta de Lima-Sison, Joaquin “Don Chino” Roces, Jake Almeda Lopez, Francisco Rodrigo, Jose Mari Velez, Benjamin Guingona, and Danilo Vizmanos. The group gathered thousands of victims, and was able to file the historic class suit against the Marcoses in 1986.

“Candazo may have served well as one of the members of the Claims Board,” said Enriquez, saddened by Candazo’s untimely death.

Candazo was active in the struggle against the Marcos regime which cost him his freedom many times during the Martial Law years.

“If Pres. Aquino is not taking his own sweet time in implementing the law, Candazo should have seen the fruits of his struggle while he was still alive,” lamented Enriquez.

The group also expressed their sentiment to the alleged ‘lip service’ of Pres. Aquino towards the plight of former political prisoners.

“Like Ninoy, they deserve to be recognized, their deeds made known to a nation grateful for its heroes. August 21 is one of those times we can remember them together with Ninoy, yet after a long, hard, even lonely struggle, the law that was supposed to do this – the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Law, has not been implemented up until now,” Enriquez said.

The group said that almost every month, they pay tribute to their members as most Martial Law victims are either ill or suffering of old age–their health conditions worsened by the physical and emotional torture they experienced at the time of their imprisonment.

Theater artist vs Martial Law

Meanwhile, Selda and the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) is set to mount a tribute to theater artist Behn Cervantes today, August 21, at the Church of the Risen Lord in University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Cervantes was already a respected theater artist, while being a member of the militant youth group Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan, when Martial Law was declared.

In his tribute, Prop. Jose Maria Sison said Cervantes was a member of the cultural bureau of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) when Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972.

“Enthusiastically, he engaged in revolutionary studies and mass work. He further used his expertise to create revolutionary art. Even before the suspension of the writ of habeas in 1971, he proved himself as a worthy cadre of the CPP. When martial law was proclaimed, he contributed significantly to the building of a broad anti-fascist/anti-Martial Law underground network of artists and middle forces,” recounted Sison.

Cervantes was jailed by the dictatorship several times for mounting anti-Martial Law theater productions and a film about the peasant revolt in Negros called “Sakada.”

“We shall not let their passing be in vain. We demand the Aquino government to implement the law now, form the claims board now. There’s no other time but now,” Enriquez demanded.