14/10/2026
Thank you to our lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center ( PILC ) for supporting this event. PILC, under the leadership then of the iconic human rights lawyer Atty. Romeo Capulong, served as Filipino counsel for the lolas of Lila Pilipina who filed a case with the Tokyo District Court in the '90s. The PILC has renewed ties with Lila Pilipina, to act as its official representative on all legal matters concerning the organization.
The Public Interest Law Center (PILC) supports the initiative of Lila Pilipina in organizing “Courage in Chaos: Women’s Resistance and War,” an exhibit that honors the stories, courage, and continuing struggle for justice of Filipino “comfort women”—survivors of the Japanese military’s wartime system of s*xual slavery. The exhibit also renews the call for official reparations for the harm inflicted upon these women and for an end to the use of s*xual violence as a weapon of war.
Lila Pilipina is an organization of Filipino “comfort women” or victims of Japanese wartime military s*x slavery. The Public Interest Law Center, lead by Atty. Romeo T. Capulong, represented Filipino “comfort women” in pioneering cases brought before Japanese courts. Through these legal actions, the survivors sought an official apology, historical acknowledgment of the injustice they endured, and state compensation from the Japanese government.
For decades, PILC has also called on the Philippine government to fully uphold its responsibility to the survivors. PILC has maintained that, under international law, the Philippine state has a duty to protect the rights of its citizens and to pursue justice and full reparations for the harms they suffered.
“Courage in Chaos: Women’s Resistance and War” runs from October 1 to 14, 2026, at the Manila Clock Tower Museum. The exhibit brings together artworks created by survivors and photographs documenting their more than three-decade struggle for justice. More than a remembrance of the past, the exhibit is a testament to the survivors’ courage, resilience, and determination—and a continuing call to confront wartime s*xual violence and ensure that such abuses are never forgotten or repeated.
