Members of the Philippine Marines lead the flag raising at Luneta Park on Tuesday. /Inquirer photo
On Independence Day
To honor and remember the Filipino women abused by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War, various groups who campaigned for the reinstallation of the “Comfort Woman” statue along Roxas Boulevard held a ceremony for the victims on Tuesday, Independence Day.
“We remember innumerable Filipino women who fell victims to the atrocities of the Japanese Imperial Army: the Filipino ‘Comfort Women’ whose struggles, almost 30 years since they came out publicly, are being relegated to the dustbins of our history,” Intergroup coalition #Flowers4Lolas said in a statement.
The coalition includes comfort women organization Lila Pilipina, pro-women party-list group Gabriela, Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, and other groups like MEMORARE Manila 1945, Whachi Veterans Descendant Association, Bataan Historical Legacy, WomanHealth Pilipinas, Philippine World War II Memories Foundation, University of the Philippines LIKAS, Center Law, and the Knights of Rizal, among others.