Filipino Public Holds Rally Calling for Justice for 'Grandmothers'

"Justice for 'Comfort Women'!" "No to War!" "Rise for Peace!"... Around 10:30 a.m. on the 14th, over the humid air along Roxas Boulevard by Manila Bay, the calls resounded one after another.

According to a report from China News Service, that day marked the World 'Comfort Women' Memorial Day. Members of the Filipino comfort women rights protection organization “Lila Pilipina” (the Filipino Grandmothers' Alliance) and “Flowers for Grandmothers,” as well as some victims’ families, held a march and demonstration to commemorate the “grandmothers” who have passed away and to urge the Japanese government to issue a formal apology and provide compensation.

In the Philippines, victims who were forced to be “comfort women” during World War II are referred to as “grandmothers.”

Sharon Silva, coordinator of “Lila Pilipina,” explained that during the period when Japanese troops occupied the Philippines from 1942 to 1945, about 1,000 local women were forced to serve as “comfort women,” causing them severe physical and psychological trauma. “Although the war has long ended, for them, the pain has never truly ceased.”

Elizabeth, who participated in the protest, is the daughter of the late victim Estelita. In 1944, at just 14 years old, Estelita was forcibly abducted by Japanese soldiers and made a “comfort woman,” suffering great abuse. She kept this secret buried for nearly half a century and did not speak out about her ordeal until the 1990s, after which she spent the rest of her life seeking justice. Estelita passed away in November of last year. Elizabeth, choking with emotion during her interview with the China News Service reporter, said she would take up her mother's cause and "continue her unfulfilled wish."

According to Sharon, statistics from her organization indicate that now only a handful of Filipino “comfort woman” victims remain alive, and they may never get to see an apology or compensation before their passing. What’s even more infuriating, she said, is that the Japanese government not only continues to avoid the issue but also does everything it can to obstruct the victims and their relatives from seeking their rights.

In December 2017, the Philippine government erected a "comfort woman" memorial statue at the site of this protest. However, due to continuous pressure from the Japanese side, the statue was removed just four months later. Even so, people still lay flowers near the original site to express their mourning.

In addition to the pursuit of justice, Sharon also called on the Philippine Congress to legislate for the inclusion of comfort women history in school curricula at all levels, so that future generations can understand and remember this chapter of history.