MANILA, 14 September 2005 — Haydee Yorac, a famous Philippine human rights lawyer who fought the regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, died yesterday at age 64.
Yorac died in Chicago where she was undergoing cancer treatment, said Nic Suarez, a spokesman for the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which she chaired until she retired in April.
Yorac, who never married, first became famous during the 70s as an outspoken fighter for human rights, providing legal aid to victims of human rights violations during martial law.
After Marcos was toppled in a bloodless civilian-backed military uprising in 1986, Yorac was appointed by the new president, Corazon Aquino, as an official of the Commission on Election, where she proved to be incorruptible.
She later headed the National Unification Commission, which laid the ground for peace talks with communist rebels.
In 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed her as chair of the PCGG.
“It was during her term that Swiss deposits (of the Marcoses), which were transferred to and held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank, were forfeited in favor of the Republic of the Philippines,” said Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo yesterday.
Romulo said that despite her failing health, Yorac worked resolutely with the Department of Foreign Affairs on the recovery of ill-gotten assets of the Marcoses in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
“In death, Haydee Yorac leaves behind a legacy of committed, honest and principled public service that will continue to inspire generations of Filipinos,” he added.
Last year, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s version of the Nobel prize, cited Yorac for her “exceptional integrity and rigor, and her unwavering pursuit of the rule of law in the Philippines.” (With input from agencies)
