Draft:Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission

The Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission (HRVVMC) often abbreviated as MemCom is a commission of the Philippine government whose primary mandate is to preserve the records and names of Human Rights Violation Victims (HRVVs) during the Marcos regime by establishing the Freedom Memorial Museum which acts as a museum, library, archive, and compendium. The commission was created in 2013 under RA 10368 otherwise known as the "Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013″ but did not begin operations until 2018 when the Human Rights Victims Claims Board, the HRVVMC's sister agency, released its final list of recognized HRVVs of Martial law. With the total number of recognized victims being 11,103.

The MemCom is led by an Executive Director who reports to the Board of Trustees which is chaired by the heads of the CHR and NHCP, with the NCCA, DepEd, and University Librarian of the University of the Philippines Diliman Main Library".

Martial Law Period
At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last until Marcos was exiled from the country on February 25, 1986 by the People Power Revolution. This period in Philippine history would be remembered for the Marcos administration's various human rights abuses of political opponents, journalists, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who went against the regime, as well as rampant corruption wherein the Marcos family was able to use the Martial Law declaration to obtain and hide large amounts of "ill-gotten wealth".

Post-Martial Law Period
Following the People Power Revolution, numerous efforts were made to obtain reparations and bring those who committed atrocities under the Marcos Administration to justice. Former President

Creation of the HRVVMC and HRVCB
On February 25, 2013, 27 years after ousting of Ferdinand Marcos, President Benigno Aquino signed into law the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013. The passing of Republic Act 10368 in 2013, signified the official recognition of Human Rights abuses committed under the Marcos Administration by the Philippine government. The law also obligated that the Philippine government provide reparations to the victims or their families. These reparations are to be sourced from part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos Family. "[I]t is hereby declared the policy of the State to recognize the heroism and sacrifices of all Filipinos who were victims of summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986 and restore the victims’ honor and dignity. The State hereby acknowledges its moral and legal obligation to recognize and/or provide reparation to said victims and/or their families for the deaths, injuries, sufferings, deprivations and damages they suffered under the Marcos regime.

Similarly, it is the obligation of the State to acknowledge the sufferings and damages inflicted upon persons whose properties or businesses were forcibly taken over, sequestered or used, or those whose professions were damaged and/or impaired, or those whose freedom of movement was restricted, and/or such other victims of the violations of the Bill of Rights."

''- Section 2. Declaration of Policy, RA 10368'' To fulfill the mandate set by the new law, two government agencies were created. The first being the Human Rights Violations Claims Board (HRVCB), which took on the role of processing and evaluating claims of human rights violations under the Marcos Administration, and the Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission (HRVVMC).

The signing of the law and recognition of the human rights abuses of the Martial Law period were hailed as a long overdue victory by many groups.

Duterte Administration (2016 - 2022)
On September 21 2018, the HRVVMC signed a memorandum with the University of the Philippines wherein the university allocated a one hectare lot inside the Diliman Campus for the proposed Freedom Memorial Museum. This museum would be built with the intention to memorialize the human rights victims of the Martial Law Period in fulfillment of one of the mandates of the HRVVMC. The signing of this memorandum comes after four years of delays in looking for a site that would fulfill the requirements of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Wherein the NHCP required the museum site to be at least 5,000 square meters. Earlier recommendations for the museum site included a lot in Bonifacio Global City under the management of the Bases Conversion Development Authority. This specific location was recommended by then President Noynoy Aquino due to the site's significance as a military camp and detention center where human rights abuses occurred. However, legal disputes with the US government over compensation prevented the usage of the land until negotiations were concluded. Funding for the construction of the museum would be sourced from the interest accrued by the Marcos' swiss accounts which RA 10368 identified to amount up to PHP 500 million.

On April 16, 2019 the United Architects of the Philippines and HRVVMC signed an agreement to collaborate on a design competition for the Freedom Memorial Museum. The competition, named "Freedom Rising: The Freedom Memorial Museum Design Competition", would put out a call to architects from all over the Philippines for designs for the museum. Judges for the competition would include "Sorsogon [Governor] Chiz Escudero, CHR Commissioner Gwen Pimentel-Gana, architects Rodolfo Ventura, Eric Tabafunda and Benjamin Panganiban Jr.; landscape architect Jose Antonio Bimbao, curator Marian Pastor Roces, sculptor Julie Lluch, I am Cardboard PH cofounder Ibba Bernardo, Bantayog ng mga Bayani board member Ester Isberto, journalist Howie Severino and Universal Robina Corp. executive Marcia Gokongwei." Later that year in August a winning team comprised of four Filipino architects was declared and awarded at the National Museum of the Philippines. This winning team was chosen from a shortlist of five other semi-finalists who each received PHP 250,000. The winning team would receive a grand prize of PHP 1 million. Their entry, chosen from amongst a hundred other entries, was named the 'Fall of Brutal'. This name made in reference to the iconic brutalist architecture of the Marcos Regime. "“During the years of martial law, it felt like you were imprisoned in your own country. We want the spectators to feel that,” said Mark Anthony Pait, the 29-year-old lead architect of the Freedom Memorial Museum."On September 21, 2019, the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, Executive Director Chuck Crisanto announced that the Freedom Memorial Museum would be set to rise on a 1.4 hectare plot of land beside the new College of Fine Arts Arts and Design West Hall in the UP Diliman campus. This announcement is follows memorandum between the University of the Philippines and HRVVMC wherein the University pledged to donate a plot of land for the building of the proposed Museum.

Marcos Jr. Administration (2022 - Present)
On June 30, 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was inaugurated as the 17th President of the Philippines. The is marked a turning point for the HRVVMC as it now faces the challenge of fulfilling its mandate of memorializing the atrocities that occurred under the administration of the newly elected president's father. With questions being raised as to whether or not the Freedom Memorial Museum, which has faced delays in its construction allowed to be built under his term. Following Marcos Jr.'s inauguration, victims of his father's regime have made public statements requesting that he does not block the building of the Memorial Museum. The HRVVMC also faces the fight against a rampant disinformation campaign that attempts to change the narrative of the Martial Law period from one of gross human rights abuses and corruption, to that of a golden age for the Philippines.

Board of Trustees
According to its implementing law, "the powers and functions of the [HRVVMC] shall be assumed by the Board of Trustees which shall be composed of the following; Chairperson of the CHR as Chairperson; Chairperson of the National Historical Commission as Co-Chairperson; and Chairpersons of the CHED, the Chair of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Secretary of the Department of Education and the Head of the University of the Philippines Diliman Main Library". The Board also "has the as the authority to hire and appoint its officials and employees, including constituting its own Secretariat. It is likewise authorized to receive donations and grants for and in its behalf, and generate revenues for the benefit of the Memorial Commission".