Flowers for Lolas
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
Filipina comfort woman Lola Estelita dies at age 94 without receiving justice
The number of last surviving Filipino “comfort women” dwindled further with the death of 94-year old Lola Estelita Dy last November 24, 2024 after suffering cardiac arrest.
Like other Filipina comfort women, Lola Estelita died still fighting without receiving justice.
“Maraming salamat sa buhay mo Lola Estelita,” Kapuso actress Sanya Lopez wrote in her Instagram who plays the character of Teresita Borromeo in the hit war series “Pulang Araw” produced locally by GMA Entertainment and available on Netflix.
Set during World War II, Pulang Araw follows the intertwined lives of four childhood friends—Eduardo (Alden Richards), Teresita (Sanya Lopez), Adelina (Barbie Forteza), and Hiroshi (David Licauco)—as they navigate the chaos of war and Japanese occupation. Amid the turmoil, their dreams, friendships, and loyalties are tested, leading them on a journey of resilience and self-discovery.
The series premiered on July 29, 2024 that stars Kapuso talents Lopez, Ashley Ortega, Rochelle Pangilinan, and Angeli Nicole Sanoy in the roles of Filipina comfort women.
With the help of the group Lila Filipina, Lopez and Ortega had the chance last January to hear first hand accounts from two survivors, Lola Estelita (94) and Lola Narcisa Claveria (93), who were only 14 and 12 years old, respectively, when they were forced to become comfort women..
During the war, Japanese forces held about 200,000 women from Korea, China, Burma, New Guinea, and the Philippines captive and subjected them to one of the largest organized systems of sexual violence in modern history.
These women were forced to perform daily menial tasks, such as washing soldiers’ clothes and cooking. In the afternoon and evening, the men would come for them and sexually abuse them.
The victims, often abducted or trafficked to Japanese military camps, had their dreams shattered. They spent their lives in misery, enduring physical injuries, pain and disability, and mental and emotional suffering.
Lola Estelita’s childhood dream to become a teacher was broken into pieces when she was kidnapped in 1944 at the age of 14 years old by Japanese soldiers while selling vegetables, eggs, and chickens at a market in Bacolod City. She spent three weeks locked in a military brothel in Talisay, Negros Occidental during which she was repeatedly raped by Japanese soldiers.
”I tried to fight back when I felt pain. The Japanese got angry, held me by the head and pushed me to the table. The soldier hit my head so hard that I was knocked out for about three days. When I regained consciousness, the Japanese was gone. A woman told me, next time, not to fight back because you might get killed. So every time I was being raped, I would just cry and cover my eyes with my hands every time they raped me”, Lola Estelita said in an interview.
In a September 2022 event at the Baclaran church, Lola Estelita said that their dwindling number highlights a sense of urgency for them to receive a formal unequivocal public apology and just compensation from Japan as well as accurate historical inclusion while their voices can still be heard.
Mass and flowers were then offered to mark the 30th anniversary of Filipina comfort women’s fight for justice. It was on September 18, 1992 when Lola Rosa Henson first appeared after she heeded Nelia Sancho’s call over a radio station to encourage Filipina women who had been abused by wartime Japanese troops to come forward.
Despite her poverty and frail health, Lola Estelita has tirelessly joined fora and protest rallies with other Lolas to demand a formal apology and compensation from the Japanese government. She was devoted the remaining years of her life to educating the younger generation about the horrors of war, hoping to prevent the repetition of past mistakes
“Until her recent stroke, Lola Estelita served as the voice of the survivors, ardently speaking out against wars of occupation even as her health turned even more frail,” the Lila Filipina organization said. “Lola Estelita was a true warrior for peace, an inspiration for many women in the country and in Japan.”
Lopez has dedicated the show to the comfort women who continue to fight for justice and recognition for what they endured during the war.
“Hayaan mo, Lola Estelita. Gagawin ko ang best ko palagi para sa inyong mga naniniwala at nagmamahal sa akin,” the actress said echoing the urgency for justice. “Kailan kaya nila matatanggap yung hustisya na nararapat para sa kanila? Kasi konti na lang sila. So, kailan pa?”
From over 200 documented Filipino survivors in the late 1990s, fewer than 30 remain alive today.
On March 8, 2023, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) released on International Women’s Day a decision which found that the “Philippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered.” (Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho is the Junior Partner of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09088665786.)
