Torture victims can now get psychological, financial aid from gov’t

Patty Pasion

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Torture victims can now get psychological, financial aid from gov’t
The Department of Social Welfare and Development leads 4 other agencies in the provision of services for torture victims

MANILA, Philippines – A rehabilitation program focused on healing, reparation and legal assistance is now available for survivors of torture and enforced disappearances. 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to implement an intervention program for the human rights victims. 

Called Healing Intervention Leading to Optimum Management for Victims of Torture and Enforced Disappearance and their Family Members (PagHILOM), the program will be piloted in Metro Manila, Davao, and Zamboanga regions in the coming months. 

Survivors may go to the DSWD Field Offices in the Metro Manila, Davao and Zamboanga to apply for the program.  

Survivors of these human rights violations or their families – limited to parents, siblings, children, and the spouse – will undergo psychological rehabilitation to bring back their sense of well-being. 

The DOH must enhance the capacity of local government units and non-government organizations in giving medical interventions, especially mental health services.

CHR Spokesperson Jackie de Guia told Rappler that the program is open to all victims of torture and enforced disappearance, even for those who experienced this under the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ authoritarian rule. (READ: What the gov’t still owes Martial Law victims

“There’s an assessment and evaluation by the DSWD and the CHR (to verify victims’ claims),” she said. 

Other services 

Meanwhile, the DOJ, the CHR and the Public Attorney’s Office will give legal assistance to the torture victims by initiating the filing of cases. The CHR must also visit detention facilities where victims of enforced disappearances to ensure their human rights are not violated inside. 

Livelihood assistance, skills training and job placement services from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are also intended for the victims. 

Should victims and their family members wish to acquire schooling, they will be referred to the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education. 

Financial assistance for food, medical, and transportation needs may also be provided upon the assessment of local DSWD offices. 

“The physical wounds of torture victims may heal, but the effect of their mental and psychological sufferings caused by the brutal and inhumane treatment they experienced may last throughout their lives,” said DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, herself a Martial Law victim and detainee. 

“What we can do right now is to offer them interventions to help them process their traumatic experiences and hopefully begin to recover from them. We want the victims and their families to attain the justice that they deserve and to assist them in their efforts to recover and move forward,” she added. 

Amnesty International estimated that there were around 34,000 torture victims during the Martial Law period. (READ: Worse than death: Torture methods during martial law

Militant human rights group Karapatan has recorded 39 cases of torture and 3 enforced disappearances under the Duterte administration. Under the Aquino administration, they said there were 172 cases of torture and 28 occurence of enforced disappearance. – Rappler.com 

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Patty Pasion

Patty leads the Rappler+ membership program. She used to be a Rappler multimedia reporter who covered politics, labor, and development issues of vulnerable sectors.