0:00:02 > 0:00:05Now it's time for Our World.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30This is the story of the extraordinary women who suffered
0:00:30 > 0:00:33great horrors in the Red House and in countless places like it
0:00:33 > 0:00:39across the Philippines.
0:00:39 > 0:00:53They want to make sure their ordeal isn't forgotten.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57They want justice.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Mileng is 85.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Her sister Lita is 83.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23The sisters have lived their whole lives in Mapanique,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25in the Philippines.
0:01:46 > 0:01:55The Second World War changed their lives completely.
0:01:55 > 0:02:03This woman lives with her sons and grandsons in Manila.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58This woman lives with her sons and grandsons in Manila.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00She's 88 years old and earns a living through sewing.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06She is still haunted by what happened many decades ago.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18She was 14 when Japanese soldiers bombed her village
0:03:18 > 0:03:28and kidnapped her.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46She was held captive and repeatedly raped for ten days.
0:03:46 > 0:03:55She had become part of what historians believe is one
0:03:55 > 0:03:57of the biggest operations of sexual violence in modern history,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00the deliberate enslavement of up to 200,000 women across Asia
0:04:00 > 0:04:03for the pleasure of Japanese soldiers, the so-called "comfort
0:04:03 > 0:04:14women".
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Many were in South Korea but far less is known about the victims
0:04:18 > 0:04:29in the Philippines.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40But as the war went on, the operation unravelled.
0:04:40 > 0:04:47Japanese soldiers started using rape to subdue towns and villages.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50What they did in Mapanique, where sisters Lita and Mileng live,
0:04:50 > 0:05:01was particularly violent.
0:06:20 > 0:06:28Over 100 women and girls were raped in the Red House that night.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32And over the course of the war, many more were raped or forced
0:06:32 > 0:06:38into sexual slavery across the country.
0:06:57 > 0:07:05The passage of more than 70 years has not given the women closure.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Over the years, the Japanese government has expressed sincere
0:07:08 > 0:07:15remorse and apologies, but the women are demanding a full
0:07:15 > 0:07:19public apology, which accepts responsibility for what happened.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21This group is preparing a petition for the Japanese embassy in Manila.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32These women are all in their 80s and 90s.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37The oldest member is 99.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41This is about easing the last few years of wounded lives.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43But time is running out.
0:07:43 > 0:08:02Of the estimated 1,000 Filipina victims, only about 70
0:08:02 > 0:08:04are still alive.
0:08:23 > 0:08:32Across town there's a different campaign.
0:08:32 > 0:08:3886-year-old great-grandmother Estellita is part of a group that
0:08:38 > 0:08:40stages public rallies to demand justice from Japan and call
0:08:40 > 0:08:42for peace in the region.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Rising tensions with China over the South China Sea have brought
0:08:45 > 0:08:54the Philippines closer to Japan.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00They have signed several defence deals and there is one on the cards
0:09:00 > 0:09:03now which could see Japanese troops back on Philippine soil.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06We are already victims of war, so we don't want wars
0:09:06 > 0:09:06in our country.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08We don't want wars in our town.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11We know that war only breeds new generations of war victims.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The call to arms is well worn.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20They've been campaigning for nearly 25 years.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22In December, 2015, the Japanese government did apologise
0:09:22 > 0:09:23to South Korean survivors.
0:09:24 > 0:09:32But there's no sign of a similar offer for the Philippines.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The women suspect their government hasn't been pressing Japan hard
0:09:35 > 0:09:39enough out of fear it will damage the alliance.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58But even so, Estellita's daughter says taking part in rallies has
0:09:58 > 0:10:00been a comfort.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17When her mum first started in the 1990s,
0:10:17 > 0:10:27it was a huge surprise.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Many of the women kept silent for decades out of shame.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08Estellita said nothing for 50 years.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26In Mapanique, it's Mileng's birthday party.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29She has invited the other survivors of the Red House
0:13:29 > 0:13:32to join in celebrations.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35But her sister Lita seems to have lost count of how old she is.
0:13:43 > 0:13:50# Happy birthday to you
0:13:50 > 0:13:51# Happy birthday to you...#.
0:13:51 > 0:14:00CHEERING
0:14:05 > 0:14:06These two women have spent their whole lives together,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40These two women have spent their whole lives together,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43but they almost lost each other.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47After they were released from the Red House, it took them
0:14:47 > 0:14:50nearly three days to find one another.
0:15:20 > 0:15:31MUSIC PLAYS
0:15:47 > 0:15:48History books in the Philippines make little mention of the suffering
0:16:06 > 0:16:09History books in the Philippines make little mention of the suffering
0:16:09 > 0:16:11of their women during the Second World War.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Fidencia has made it her mission to educate young people
0:16:13 > 0:16:15about what really happened.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18One of her most painful memories is of what took place on the final
0:16:18 > 0:16:20night after suffering days of repeated rape and abuse.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00This is not just about making sure her story is remembered.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03She wants it to be a lesson.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06In this very conservative country, only around a third of victims
0:17:06 > 0:17:10of rape and sexual abuse come forward.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Hearing Fidencia's story has emboldened one young victim to speak
0:17:47 > 0:17:49publicly for the first time.
0:17:49 > 0:17:55OK, so right now, I'm feeling shaky because I'm being taken back to that
0:17:55 > 0:17:58space where I had to go back to my own sexual abuse.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It happened to me seven years ago.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23Moments like this give some solace to a lifetime of suffering.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49SINGING
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Estellita and her daughter have come to join the Labour Day march.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00The baking heat takes its toll.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04In the past, two women died after a rally.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05But she is resolute.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16But she is resolute.