Capulong said Mr. Estrada gave his go signal to ''expedite'' the enforcement of the compensation claims when he signed the 68-page agreement titled Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (Cahrihl) on Aug. 6.

The accord was forged between the panels of the NDF led by Luis Jalandoni and that of the government led by former ambassador Howard Dee.

The final provision of the document noted that both the NDF and the government ''recognize the applicability of the principles and the continuing force of obligations independently of the outcome of the GRP-NDFP negotiations.''

''In short, even if the peace talks were postponed or even if they collapsed, President Estrada is bound to implement the accord that recognizes the claims of the Marcos victims,'' said Capulong, also general counsel of the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya, the group that originally filed and won the class suit in a United States court.

Capulong also said President Estrada even assigned Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora to discuss with Selda the mechanics of enforcing the compensation claims.

He said the President wanted to immediately settle the compensation problem because the government could not touch the money being held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank unless the claims of human rights victims were satisfied.

Capulong said the accord obliged the government to ''guide the satisfaction of the claims, with regard to the amount and mode of compensation, which shall be the most direct and quickest possible to every victim or heir in accordance with the relevant Swiss Supreme Court decisions.''

He was referring to the Swiss Supreme Court ruling that the $570 million Marcos money now being held in escrow will only be released if the claims of the victims were fully satisfied.

But PNB Chair Edgardo Angara said the rights violation victims could not get their share of the deposit without an order from the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Marcos family.

''We (PNB) are just an escrow agent, that means we hold it (deposit) in trust for the creator of the escrow. The holder of the escrow is the PCGG and the Marcos family,'' Angara said when interviewed in Malaca¤ang Monday night.

He added: ''So under the law, as an escrow agent and as a trust, we cannot make decisions on our own. We should follow strictly the orders of the creators of the escrow account.''

The group which belongs to Selda earlier announced that rights violation victims would get from P500,000 to P3.5 million from 30 percent of the deposit at PNB.

From $540 million, the amount has grown to $570 million through accrued interests.

Capulong said that Article 5 of the Cahrihl provided that should there be any settlement, the government should execute with the duly authorized representatives of the victims a ''written instrument'' to implement the accord.

It was for this reason, Capulong said, that Mr. Estrada tasked Zamora to require Selda to submit a written instrument that would contain the guidelines in the implementation of compensation.

Rights violation victims belonging to Selda have already submitted the written instrument to Malaca¤ang last Friday.

Capulong said Zamora met with him, Jalandoni and Vic Ladlad, Selda director, several times to discuss how much of the $570 million would go to the Marcos victims.

He said it was Zamora who even suggested that the victims be given 30 percent or $171 million of the $570 million.

Capulong reminded the President of the provision which said: ''The parties hereby forge this agreement in order to affirm their constant and continuing mutual commitment to respect human rights and the principles of international humanitarian law and hereby recognize either Party's acts of good intention to be bound by and to comply with the principles of international humanitarian law.''

He said the government would be negotiating with the NDF ''in bad faith'' if it disregarded the document President Estrada signed.

''If President Estrada really wanted peace to prevail in this country, he should not violate any agreement, much less use the compensation talks between the government and the Marcos victims as a leverage for the government to compel the NDF to agree to its terms and conditions,'' Capulong said.

The written instrument submitted by Selda provides that sharing of the amount due the victims shall be ''pro rata.''

The principle to be followed in distributing the indemnification shall be jointly agreed upon between the Office of the President and Selda.

''It is Selda's moral authority to provide this kind of service to the victims and their heirs because it was Selda which initiated the class suit, provided and performed all the necessary support work, services and resources of lead counsel lawyer Robert Swift, for the successful litigation of the case,'' said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Selda secretary general.

The written instrument also stresses that the government would pursue criminal and civil cases against the Marcoses until they were prosecuted, convicted and jailed.

It also provides that any compromise agreement between the government and the Marcoses shall not oblige the victims to give up the liability of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and that the agreement shall not exculpate the Marcoses or grant them complete immunity from suits and liabilities under the laws of the government.

By Christine Herrera and Juliet Labog-Javellana