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Reparation law for martial law victims did not convict Marcoses, says Escudero

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gives a speech announcing his intention to run for the presidency in the 2022 national elections on October 5, 2021. Handout, Office of Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr." src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/11/08/20211005-election-announcement-marcos-bongbong-ho-02.jpg"/><figcaption>Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gives a speech announcing his intention to run for the presidency in the 2022 national elections on October 5, 2021. <em>Handout, Office of Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - A law mandating reparation for martial law victims did not convict the Marcos family, its principal author and sponsor said Monday.</p><p>&quot;That law did not convict anyone, that law simply provides compensation of victims of torture and human rights violation during the time of former president Ferdinand Marcos,&quot; Sorsogon Gov. Francis &quot;Chiz&quot; Escudero, who is running again for the Senate, said in an interview on Headstart. </p><p>Escudero said anyone was welcome to campaign in Sorsogon in the upcoming polls, including his former colleague in the Senate Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr.</p><p>&quot;My position would still be the same. If he will come here we will accept him and I would want our people to come and meet him and get to decide for themselves,&quot; he said. </p><p>It is up to Marcos whether he would apologize for his family&#x27;s supposed crimes, Escudero said.</p><p>&quot;It’s up to senator Marcos if he wants to apologize because if you force an apology out of him, it’s also not going to be believable much less acceptable to those asking for his apology,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;I don’t think he has any plans of doing so given his past interviews, his past decisions. Whether he should say sorry or not is up to him. If he does not let the voters use that as basis whether to vote for him or not.&quot;</p><p>Escudero, meantime, said he was still awaiting the decision of his partylist, the Nationalist People&#x27;s Coalition, on who to support for the presidency.</p><p>&quot;I will wait for the NPC, if they allow us to decide on our own then we get to decide on our own. If they choose someone which I’m personally not comfortable with then perhaps that’s the decision of the party member to remain in the party and not follow or resign from the party if he does not agree with the decision of the party,&quot; he said.</p><p>When asked about the possibility of President Rodrigo Duterte being his colleague, Escudero said this would &quot;not be a unique situation,&quot; citing the case of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who served in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2019.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1822838" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

A law mandating reparation for martial law victims did not convict the Marcos family, its principal author and sponsor said Monday.