Partylist group files House bill naming Aug. 14 as memorial day for comfort women
Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas on Monday filed a bill seeking to declare August 14 as the National Memorial Day for Comfort Women in the House of Representatives.
Brosas said that in filing House Bill 8859, they are hoping that the national government would recognize the bravery of Filipino women who were victims of sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
“The significance of this bill is to really celebrate the bravery of comfort women. In particular, their fight for justice to preserve the narrative or stories of ‘lolas’ who have experienced war atrocities,” Brosas told reporters.
Narcisa Claveria, 94, one of the remaining comfort women, renewed the call for the national government to give them reparations.
“I remember that the Philippine government has not yet given us justice. That’s why my fight continues for the national government and the Japanese to notice how I suffered at the hands of Japanese soldiers,” Claveria said.
“I will remember it until the day I die,” she added.
Meanwhile, Sharon Silva-Cabusao, director of the women’s rights group Lila Pilipina, expressed support for the bill.
In a phone interview with The Daily Manila Shimbun, Brosas said they chose August 14 as the day of commemoration because it was when the end of World War II was declared.
She said they are asking the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Philippine Commission on Women, the Commission on Human Rights, and non-government organizations to raise awareness to the public about comfort women.
“We are also vying for the DepEd (Department of Education) and the CHED (Commission on Higher Education) to facilitate the celebration in schools, colleges and universities,” Brosas said.
They are also requesting that the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) to “allocate an hour of programs dedicated to the plight of comfort women so that their history won’t be forgotten”.
She said they are also encouraging other broadcasting stations to eventually do the same.
Brosas said she hoped that the bill would be taken up by the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality.
Asked about her reaction to the country’s security cooperation with Japan and the United States, Brosas said she was against it.
“We are not taking that stance. We want an independent foreign policy,” Brosas said.“We want to bring up the West Philippine Sea issue to the friendly ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and not worsen the tension between the US and China,” she said.
“We would want to, in the long run, to de-militarize the West Philippine Sea,” she said.
Women’s rights groups, including Gabriela party-list and Lila Pilipina in March, held a rally to show their opposition to the government’s security triad with the US and Japan.
Cabusao previously criticized Japan for not admitting their sins against comfort women and sending fighter jets to the country. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
