Filipino comfort women suffering persists
MANILA — Justice remains elusive for the Filipino comfort women during the Japanese occupation. It is the central theme of the discussion organized by Concerned Artists of the Philippines, in partnership with Lila Pilipina and Probe Archives on September 3.
“My mother died without achieving justice,” said Elizabeth Atillo-Dy, daughter of the comfort woman Estelita Dy, in Filipino. “We continue the fight she left for us. We will continue to search for justice so it will not happen to other people again.”
Estelita died of cardiac arrest on November 24, 2024 at the age of 94. She was among those who campaigned for justice and reparation for her fellow survivors, educating younger generations about the atrocities of war and sexual slavery.
“Even in their death bed, even when they could no longer walk, many of them only have fragments of memories of war, but every time we mention the Japanese embassy and Lila Pilipina, they remain eager in pursuing justice and accountability,” said Sharon Cabusao-Silva, executive director of Lila Pilipina, a group dedicated to uphold the rights of Filipino comfort women.
Silva said that there is a strong historical denialism on the plight of the survivors as there is an attempt to discredit them. “They told us that the reparations for them were already covered in 1956 during the post-war bilateral negotiations between the Japanese and Philippine governments which are obvious lies. The issue of comfort women only started to surface in the 1990s.”
During the discussion, it was also stressed that the struggle for justice of Filipino comfort women is continuously marred by impunity because it is tied with the socio-economic and foreign relations of the Philippine and Japanese governments.
Japan has been the top bilateral source of official development assistance (ODA) for two decades, spanning the administrations from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The funds are used in large-scale infrastructure projects, including the North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway, and Davao City Bypass. The Philippines is also the first recipient of the defense aid loan program of the Japanese government.
For Sol Iglesias, political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, the continuous dependence on Japan as the top creditor and top partner in trade relations contributes to silence the truth about their wartime crimes.
“There are [pieces of] evidence and testimonies, but the power of geopolitics contributes to the system that silences the truth. But this is not a lost cause,” Iglesias said. “Violence against women is a permanent feature in all conflicts around the world.”
In more than 170 documented victims of Lila Pilipina, only six are alive. One of those who passed away, Teresita Dayo, died on August 30 at the age of 95, surrounded by her family. In a statement, Lila Pilipina said that Dayo felt afraid to travel outside her hometown due to the trauma she experienced during the Japanese occupation.
“Her parents never talked about her experience and she tried to live after the war with a positive attitude but experienced body pains whenever she saw images of war.” Lila Pilipina added.
To ensure that the brutality never happens again to anyone, Lila Pilipina has been active in campaigning against foreign military interventions. They condemn the activation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippine and Japanese government which is to take effect on September 11.
In the provisions of the RAA, various privileges are given to visiting forces which includes access to facilities, movement in areas and territories. Article 14 states that the visiting forces may transport, store, and handle weapons, ammunition, explosives, and dangerous goods for the conduct of cooperative activities.
“The stories and narratives of our Filipino comfort women are documented which is why for us, it is not a lost cause to continue the campaign,” Silva said.
The discussion titled “Memory Project 21: Filipina Comfort Women and the Continuing Quest for Justice” is in time for the 80th year of the formal end of World War II, running in parallel with the current exhibition of the UP Fine Arts Gallery titled “Locations of Freedom.” Both activities highlighted the struggles against colonial rule and contemporary forms of authoritarianism. The event also emphasized the importance of archives, storytelling, and documentation of human rights violations to contribute to the ongoing search for justice. (DAA)
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