Lolas Kampanyera Denounces Japan’s Hand on HRN 124 Re-vote

That House Resolution No. 124 has to go back and be voted on again in the committee level after being declared approved by foreign affairs committee chair, Rep. Antonio Cuenco, is regrettable.

In a hearing last March 11, 2008 at Batasan, HRN 124, a resolution to urge Japan to officially apologize and legally compensate its victims of large-scale forced sexual slavery in WWII, was unanimously adopted by the house committee. The arguments in favor of the aging victims were meritorious enough that there was no reason for the committee to decide otherwise against the resolution.

And yet, this small victory cannot be savored by the elderly Filipino comfort women despite their 15 years of campaigning in the congress. All because a Japanese diplomat decided to meddle with our legislative proceedings. First Secretary Yoshihisa Ishikawa has no business questioning house committee measures.

But it is no surprise that Japan will attempt such antics. They have counter campaigned against the comfort women Lolas in the last 15 years; they have lobbied against the resolutions that were eventually adopted by the parliament of Netherlands, the European Union and Canada; and they did some nasty stunts in Washington to impede the progress of U.S. House Resolution 121 in the U.S.

Lobbyists of HR 121 in the U.S. lament that the promotion to block the resolution favoring the comfort women by Japan was very strong that their campaign was made very challenging.

When The Lolas Kampanyera representatives attended the World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in Los Angeles, California in October 2007, U.S. HR 121 groups exposed the hurdles thrown at them by agents of the Japanese government. Lobbyists for Japan, they said, have even resorted to paying for full-page ads in the Post and other papers just to win over dissenting votes on U.S. HR 121.

But just like in the U.S., Netherlands, E.U. and Canada where recent resolutions were subsequently adopted, our HRN 124 pending in the Philippine congress is just experiencing a temporary setback but will eventually be adopted. After all, it is being questioned by the Japanese based on a technicality and no longer on its substance or significance.

The Lolas Kampanyera comfort women survivors’ organization have actually gone overseas to the U.S., Netherlands, E.U. and Canada to get the foreign resolutions going. It will not do differently on the home front until HRN 124 has been passed all the way.

The adoption of a resolution to urge the offending state (Japan) should have been easier for the Philippines considering the subject of mass violation of human rights was done to our very own adolescent girls during WWII. Besides, the international community already legislatively denounced Japan’s inability to face its obligations and do the honorable thing – express sincere apology to the individuals it violated.

For our lawmakers, it should just be a matter of echoing the foreign resolutions to protect the interest of our fellow Filipinos who were enslaved and dishonored by Japanese troops.

The Lolas Kampanyera trusts that all 55 of the foreign committee members in the house feel strongly against such human rights abuse on their own citizens, especially that the offending party still does not show remorse over its misdeeds and is hoping to get away with it.

Hopefully, at least 12 of these solons will make their ‘sense of responsibility’ known by making their votes counted such that a quorum is ensured and the resolution will be passed in the committee level based mainly on its due merit.

With what happened, it has been made clearer to us that Japan’s unofficial apology remains just a lip service and feigning real regrets. As such, Japan should not be allowed to evade legal responsibility to its victims through a state compensation system. This intervention of the Japanese Embassy in congress proceedings only affirms that the government of Japan is insincere in its efforts to own up to its responsibility to the comfort women Lolas. -- 04.10.2008