Tag Archives: FIND

[Video] The Search for the Desaparecidos is a Resolute River – AFAD-FIND Holy Wednesday presentation

The Search for the Desaparecidos is a Resolute River

AFAD-FIND Holy Wednesday presentation
It has been a Lenten tradition of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) to commemorate Holy Wednesday with outdoor activities depicting the injustices committed against the disappeared and their families.

This year, the enhanced community quarantine and physical distancing aimed to contain the COVID-19 contagion prohibits these public events. The lockdown, however, can never lock up the pain inflicted by the State’s failure to bring the perpetrators of enforced disappearance to justice.

The families of the disappeared may not be able to meet physically, hug and kiss and draw support from each other, or share memories of their disappeared loved ones; but today they renew their unwavering commitment to fight for justice and end impunity. This, not for their missed kin alone but for all victims of human rights violations and abuses.

This Holy Wednesday, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) warmly joins FIND share a poem of steadfast struggle and fervent hope for truth, justice, and peace.

I.
Like clockwork:
Fear for the lost in each footstep, visits to police stations and military camps, prisons, and to offices of non-governmental organizations and others who may help find the disappeared.
Look everywhere. Ask anyone, anywhere.
The search, perhaps futile. Maybe, forever.
But the answers are out there somewhere.

II.
A raging sea it was, within body and soul of those left behind, upon news that the wolves had pounced and snatched their kin; oftentimes, the family’s breadwinner.
Then the years passed into decades; a century lapsed to the next.
Through court hearings, campaigns, commemorations. Covered in the news, or not.
Still missing. They are still missing.

III.
Now, the rage remains but has steeled into a resolute river of steady sadness.
A river of a still open and festering wound.
Still missing. They are still missing.

IV.
The wolves: some may have passed away, and perhaps accorded military honors in burial.
Whereas, their victims: where were they laid to rest after abduction and torture?
In land? Sea?
By the river? Down the river?
They remain missing and the faceless wolves
have yet to face justice.

V.
This is a river flowing through a continuing crime, a poem that has yet to find its rhyme.
The search continues.
The struggle continues.
Like clockwork.

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[Statement] Out of sight, out of mind. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. Time heals all wounds. -FIND

Photo by Nanette Castillo

Whoever came up with these clichés must not have known a desaparecido. The vivid narratives about their lives, heroism, and martyrdom endlessly told and retold by their families interweave truthful memories of those forced out of sight but can never be forced out of mind. The families’ vacillation between the hope of finding the disappeared beloved and despair over their unknown fate and whereabouts evokes immeasurable pain proving that what one doesn’t know is what hurts the most. And that without justice, no amount of time can heal the wounds inflicted by enforced or involuntary disappearance.

Hence, on All Souls’ Day, we gather at the Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido at the Baclaran church grounds not longing for tombstones to visit but truly energized to celebrate the sterling lives and struggles of our dear Desaparecidos. They started out as idealist human rights defenders (HRDs) but ended up heroes and martyrs to freedom and democracy.

Not unlike the HRDs at present, the Desaparecidos also staunchly fought for the freedom of expression and the right to dissent which ironically led to their being silenced and even brutally muzzled.

We, the inheritors of their enduring legacies, deeply commit to protest and resist the unrelenting assault on human rights and dignity.

Today, as we honor and pay tribute to the Desaparecidos, we listen, ponder on, and get inspired by their relevant and meaningful words of wisdom, three of which reverberate thus:

“Yes, Mother. There are six of us remaining. When I leave, there is still going to be five of your children with you. Won’t you give just one more of us to the country we all love?” – Ramon V. Jasul

“My friends, what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it?… Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, ‘God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!’ – if you don’t give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith; if it is alone and includes no action, then it is dead.” – Romeo G. Crismo

“But the youth must never stay supine… there is still cause for a demonstration. If only to register our opposition to an action of our government which we believe is wrong. If only to demonstrate that we do not sleep on our rights. And who knows, our rallies today may not produce immediate concrete results, but the little ripples that they are today could very well be the big waves of tomorrow.” – Hermon C. Lagman

Contact person: Celia L. Sevilla, 0932-8165564

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[Statement] FIND condemns the enforced disappearance of journalist and human rights defender Margarita Valle

The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) condemns in the strongest possible terms the enforced disappearance of journalist and human rights defender Margarita Valle.

On 9 June 2019, her son Rius Valle posted the following on Facebook: “Margarita Valle, 61 years old, my mother, was illegally arrested today by members of PNP in Laguindingan Airport for an unknown reason. She was set to go home after attending a training-workshop in Pagadian City and about to board a plane to Davao when the arrest happened. We have now lost all communications with her and we don’t know her whereabouts…She made a last minute call during her arrest and she was told that she will be brought to CIDG for interrogation.”

All elements of enforced disappearance, which are clearly defined under R. A. 10353 or the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Act of 2012, were clearly present in the case of Valle:
• Deprivation of liberty
• Committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State
• Refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person

The law purposely does not set a minimum period of time for a person to be missing in order for a case to be considered one of enforced disappearance. As what Ms. Valle’s family and friends can now attest to, it does not matter if the period of disappearance is relatively short, it causes tremendous pain and anxiety just the same. Additionally, a minute of enforced disappearance can easily stretch into days, then weeks, months, years. This could very well have been the case with Ms. Valle had she not had the presence of mind to make that last minute call and had there not been widespread public outcry and clamor for her release.

Ms. Valle’s experience saw violations of R. A. 10353, foremost of which are of the following provisions:

• The right against enforced disappearance is non-derogable. The law states that it shall not be suspended under any circumstance including political instability, the threat of war, state of war or other public emergencies.

Even given that it is true that her case was that of mistaken identity, the person the police actually meant to take into custody should not be made to disappear.

• Right of access to communication. Under the law, it shall be the absolute right of any person deprived of liberty to have immediate access to any form of communication available in order for him or her to inform his or her family, relative, friend, lawyer or any human rights organization on his or her whereabouts and condition.

Ms. Valle had a mobile phone with her but in an article posted on 10 June 2019 at newsinfo.inquirer.net, she was quoted as saying, “…For so many hours, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, I have no contact with my family since they took my cellphone. That by itself is a violation,” she said. She was absolutely right. Not only was she not given “immediate access to any form of communication”, but her means of communication was also actually taken away from her.

According to FIND Co-chairperson Nilda L. Sevilla, “Before the enactment of R. A. 10353, we human rights defenders lobbied steadfastly for 16 years for an anti-enforced disappearance law that will protect all persons from enforced disappearance under any and all circumstances. However, we are all aware that a law is only as good as its implementation. Ms. Valle’s experience is undeniable proof that the law is not at all being fully nor strictly implemented. If it were, she would not have had to undergo the horrors she went through in the hands of the police.”

FIND Advocacy Officer Celia Sevilla called for an impartial and thorough investigation, adding that, “There are still provisions under R. A. 10353 that can and should be implemented in the case of Ms. Valle: perpetrators should be held accountable and penalized under the law, and Ms. Valle should be provided immediately with the reparation she wishes to avail herself of and to which she is legally entitled.”

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[Event] Kite-Flying Day (International Week of the Disappeared) -FIND

FIND holds a kite-flying event every year in observance of the International Week of the Disappeared. Each year’s theme connects the issue of enforced disappearance with a significantly relevant and current human rights concern. Join us this year as we call for the protection of human rights defenders, that they may not fall victims to human rights violations as did our beloved Desaparecidos.

June 2, 2019
Sunday at 10 AM
Quezon Memorial Circle

https://www.facebook.com/events/371146053512804/

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[Press Release] HR violations victims’ kin: No to candidates with bloody hands -CAED/ Anti-EJK Network

Photo by Michael Non

United by the common pain of loss and injustice, families of victims of involuntary disappearance were joined by the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) on Holy Wednesday to intensify their call for justice, which for years has eluded them.

An annual event of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), the Kalbaryo ng Kawalan ng Katarungan for the past years had always highlighted the cross the families bear. This year, according to Nilda Sevilla, Co-chairperson of FIND, the event showed their strength and unity as more families of the disappeared and EJK victims are coming out in the open to become staunch human rights defenders (HRDs).

Forming a human chain in front of the Centris Mall along EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, they emphasized the significance of the May 13 national elections in their fight for justice. “Let us ensure that no perpetrator of human rights violations and supporters of Duterte’s brutal drug war will be voted into office. Do not vote for candidates who have blood on their hands,” Ellecer Carlos, spokesperson of iDEFEND and son of a surfaced desaparecido said.

“As human rights violations against the poor and critics of this administration escalate, it is crucial that we elect candidates who, based on their track record, will prioritize all human rights for all,” Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) Executive Director Emmanuel Amistad stressed.

Meanwhile, Senator Leila de Lima, in a statement read during the event, urged the families of victims not to lose hope. “Like you, I am also a victim of injustice but I believe that one day through our persistence and collective action, justice will be served.”

The opposition lawmaker has been detained for more than two years now in Camp Crame on what her supporters describe as trumped-up illegal drugs charges meant to silence her criticisms against EJKs and the war on drugs.

As they come together, the families demand that government: conduct prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of the killings and disappearances even prior to the filing of formal complaints; ensure accountability of perpetrators; strengthen the rights against enforced disappearance and EJKs; grant reparation to all victims of human rights violations; enact the human rights defenders protection law; and address the roots of insurgency and illegal drugs.

“We have no illusions that these demands will be fulfilled by the same people who snatched our loved ones from us. Our vote on May 13 will be a protest vote against impunity and injustice,” Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Secretary General of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) said.

Elaborating on the political character of the families’ Lenten call, Sevilla reminded the gathering that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a violent act of the State. “The struggle for political power underlay King Herod’s plot to eliminate Jesus Christ whom he tagged as a subversive – a threat to his enduring reign,” she pointed out.

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[Press Release] Having no tombs to visit, the families of victims of enforced disappearance hold their traditional All Souls’ Day commemoration at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani

Photo by Richie Supan

Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
02 November 2018

Having no tombs to visit, the families of victims of enforced disappearance and other human rights defenders hold their traditional All Souls’ Day commemoration today at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani grounds in Quezon City.

A daupang-palad begins at 4:00 p.m., followed by a holy mass at 5:00 p.m., and a procession at 6:00 p.m.

Daupang-palad seeks to contextualize from a human rights lens the martyrdom and heroism of the disappeared in the current national situation.

“As we celebrate the lives of our beloved desaparecidos, who fought for the rights and welfare of the poor and marginalized, we become more acutely aware of the imperative of sustaining the struggle for this cause,” said Nilda L. Sevilla, FIND Co-chairperson, and sister of disappeared labor and human rights lawyer Hermon C. Lagman.

“Respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights, freedom of expression, education for all, national sovereignty, territorial integrity, good governance, social justice and peace – causes that the heroes and martyrs aspired for are yet to be realized today,” Sevilla added.

Other family members and human rights defenders concurred as they cite: unabated torture, drug war-related killings and disappearances; soaring prices of goods and services; uncontained corruption particularly in the Bureau of Customs; derogation of the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea; mockery of separation of powers among the executive, Congress and the Supreme Court; and shrinking democratic or civic space.

Along with other human rights defenders, Mary Aileen D. Bacalso, AFAD Secretary General, paid tribute to the disappeared and victims of extrajudicial killings. As she echoed Bishop Broderick Pabillo’s clarification that All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day should be a celebration of life, Bacalso said that “These occasions should not be surrounded by darkness associated with death, but by the light of the courage and inspiring lives of the disappeared and other freedom fighters.”

The procession is reminiscent of the religious rituals and assemblies staged by political activists during Marcos’ martial law regime that banned mass mobilizations, protest rallies and labor strikes.

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[Press Release] Families of the disappeared and human rights defenders gather to reflect on the passion of Jesus Christ -FIND/AFAD

Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
28 March 2018

Every year on Holy Wednesday, the families of the disappeared and human rights defenders gather to reflect on the passion of Jesus Christ even as they relate the suffering from injustice of their beloved desaparecidos to Jesus’ agony on Calvary Hill.

Today, they come together at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City to reflect on the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ and to hold a truth-telling session with a mother of a victim of enforced disappearance and a wife of a victim of extrajudicial killing which are both related to government’s war on drugs. A playback performance by DulamBuhay theater artists follows each reflection.

Reflecting on the seventh Last Word, Edita Burgos, mother of disappeared Jonas Burgos stated that, “Though we be victims (of oppression and injustice), we choose to be Christ’s presence on earth.”

“As we now ponder on the pains endured by the crucified Christ and the tortured desaparecidos, we become conscious of the palpable threat to our own life, liberty, and security in the struggle for the protection and promotion of human rights and basic freedoms,” said Aileen Bacalso, Secretary General of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD).

Celia Sevilla, Advocacy Officer of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in reacting to the linking of human rights groups to drug syndicates by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) as well as the earlier statement by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that these organizations could be “unwitting tools” of drug syndicates out to destabilize the government, underscored that the allegation is “patently preposterous.”

“Worse, they could embolden mindless vigilantes, who toe the ‘kill, kill, kill’ line of Duterte, to target human rights defenders,” she added.

Nilda Sevilla, Co-chairperson of FIND and sister of disappeared labor and human rights lawyer Hermon Lagman, pointed out that, “While these irresponsible and malicious pronouncements are relevant to the Lenten season as they remind us of the malevolent accusations against Jesus Christ that led to his crucifixion, they are nonetheless anathema to the positive values of love, faith, and truth that underlie Lent.”

NILDA L. SEVILLA
FIND Co-Chairperson
0922-8286154

MARY AILEEN DIEZ-BACALSO
AFAD Secretary-General
0917-7924058

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[From the web] Families of Desaparecidos and EJK Victims light thousand candles on All Souls’ Day to call for end to state violence

Families of Desaparecidos and EJK Victims light thousand candles on All Souls’ Day to call for end to state violence -www.tfdp.net

Photo by Anni Mustonen

On November 2, 2017, All Souls’ Day, about 50 families of victims of involuntary disappearance and extrajudicial killings lead a gathering of more than a hundred religious, human rights advocates, and activists in lighting thousands of candles and offering prayers for victims of state violence.

While most Filipinos remember their dearly departed on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, families of desaparecidos have no closure as to the fate of their loved ones and no graves to visit. Members of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) traditionally gather to remember their loved ones. This year, they spend All Souls’ Day with the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under the government’s war on drugs at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Center in Quezon City.

“The families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are one in holding the State accountable for these heinous and violent transgressions of human rights,” Nilda Sevilla, FIND Co-chairperson said. “Together, they must break their silence – demand truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition – in order to break impunity,” she added.

According to the group, the event dubbed as “Libong Kandila at Panalangin para sa Libu-libong Biktima ng Karahasan” aims to remember victims, assert the truth about the human rights situation in the country, and urge the Duterte administration to stop perpetrating violence against the people.

“The government in the past few weeks denies that there are EJKs committed under the war on drugs.  We light thousands of candles to symbolize our assertion of the truth. Thousands were killed. Many innocent lives were wasted. Many of our fellow Filipinos witnessed rampant violations of due process under the bloody war on drugs.  Ano ang tawag mo sa patayan at karahasan ng pamahalaan? Paglabag ‘yan sa karapatang pantao,” pointed out Emmanuel Amistad, Executive Director of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP).

During the mass at the said gathering, Fr. Flaviano ‘Flavie’ Villanueva, SVD, Mission and JPIC Coordinator of SVD Central underscored the sanctity of life. “Ang bawat buhay ng tao ay nagmula sa Diyos. Dahil nagmula sa Kaniya, ang buhay ay sagrado. Ito’y dapat kalingain at pagyamanin. Ngunit kung ating babastusin, binabastos din natin ang Diyos.”

He added, “Marami na ang buhay na nawasak at naulila. Ipagdasal natin sa araw ng mga kaluluwa ang kaluluwa ng mga taong sumisigaw ng katarungan at naghahangad ng kapayapaan. Stop the killings! Start the healing!”

“As religious and consecrated persons, we believe that the wheels of justice should take their course following the proper procedure and operate within the bounds of the law. We demand that the concerned government agencies continue apprehending those involved in drug trafficking but not through extrajudicial killings,” said Sr. Regina Kuizon, RGS, Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) Co-Chairperson.

One of the relatives of the EJK victims under the war on drugs lamented, “Marami na pong buhay ang nasayang, marami po ang mga inosenteng nadamay. Kung ang otoridad ang lumalabag ng karapatan natin, kanino pa tayo aasa?”

“The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) strongly condemns the rampant cases of extrajudicial killings and State-sponsored violence,” Aileen Bacalso, AFAD Secretary-General said. “Likewise, we also urge the administration to fully implement the Republic Act 10353 to put an end to cases of enforced disappearance in the country. The inaction of the current administration signifies a travesty of justice and a manifestation of the longstanding culture of impunity in our society,” she added.

The activity is also part of the group’s series of events leading to the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2017, even as they pledge to mobilize thousands of people to protest against State-sponsored violence.

The group concluded their event with a candle procession.

[Statement] Reducing CHR’s 2018 Budget to P1,000: Cheapening Human Rights -FIND

PRESS STATEMENT
Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
12 September 2017

Reducing CHR’s 2018 Budget to P1,000:
Cheapening Human Rights

The late nationalist legislators Diokno, Tañada, Recto, and Salonga and summarily killed activist desaparecidos must be turning in their graves.

The House of Representatives desires to sound the death knell for the Commission on Human Rights by reducing its proposed 2018 budget to a pathetic P1,000. Ending the life of a constitutionally created “independent office” is beyond the congressional power of the purse. The virtual abolition is patently unconstitutional.

By directly creating the CHR, the Constitution seeks to insulate the national human rights institution from interference and pressure of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and from partisan control and influence.

It is worth noting that as of August 16, 2017, the CHR is one of only 75 national human rights institutions in the world considered fully compliant with the Paris Principles that defines standards of competence and responsibilities, guarantees of independence, and methods of operation, among other requisites of a national human rights institution.

It is imperative to supplant the culture of violence and death created by unabated extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other grave human rights violations by a culture of human rights that the CHR aims to develop and sustain.

Four months ago, during the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines’ human rights performance by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Philippines proudly reported that it generously increased the budget of the CHR. Indeed, it rose by 39.59%, from P439.7-M in 2016 to P727.9-M in the current year, which increase the CHR truly deserves to enable it to effectively protect and promote human rights.

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[Statement] “Beyond Disappearance: Chronicles of Courage” -FIND

“Beyond Disappearance: Chronicles of Courage”

President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for an investigation into the killing of Grade 11 minor Kian Loyd de los Santos in a police anti-drug operation may make the people temporarily gloss over the repulsive anti-human rights rhetoric he had previously spewed out.

Unfazed human rights defenders, however, remain focused on protecting human rights in the tradition of their predecessors, some of whom we honor today, the International Day of the Disappeared (IDD). As compared with the International Week of the Disappeared (IWD), which is a week-long global campaign against enforced disappearance observed in the last week of May, August 30 was declared by the United Nations as IDD to give tribute to the thousands upon thousands of desaparecidos across continents.

The sterling lives of Filipino desaparecidos are inspiring as they contributed much to trimphant struggles such as the phenomenal ouster of the dictator in the 1986 EDSA uprising.

The desaparecidos’ historic resolute struggle with and for the people prompted repressive authorities to conveniently yet ironically label them as “enemies of the State”. Such wrongful tagging pains those who witnessed their selfless sacrifices for social protection and freedom from hegemonic interventions and autocratic policy decisions.

The disappeared along with other heroes and martyrs taught us which option to take in the face of violence and repression: unrelenting resistance and protest actions. Their ultimate vision of a truly sovereign and democratic country made them unmindful of the personal cost of their pro-people choices.

Remembering and honoring them on the International Day of the Disappeared is the least that we can do to thank them, but definitely not even the last that they would have asked us to do. That we rather sustain the struggle for the causes they fought for may well be their collective exhortation especially to those who need to be roused from apathy and inaction.

PRESS STATEMENT
30 August 2017
International Day of the Disappeared

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[Statement] Joint statement on the International Week of the Disappeared – AFAD/FIND/iDEFEND

JOINT STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED

As this year’s International Week of the Disappeared begins, we call upon the Philippine Government to end enforced disappearances and bring to justice all perpetrators of this grave human rights violation.

Enforced Disappearance is a phenomenon that is inextricably intertwined with Extra-Judicial Killing and Torture. The recent spate of killings linked with this administration’s war on drugs may have put focus on the end result; the death of thousands of victims. However, reports of these killings have indicated that many victims, prior to being executed, were first abducted as well as tortured. The administration must be reminded that enforced disappearance and torture are against Philippine domestic laws (RA10353 and RA9745 respectively).

We commend the termination of the police officers behind the make-shift secret detention facility discovered in Manila Police Station 1, but we condemn the anti-poor, unscientific, and inhumane policies that have encouraged this widespread and systematic abuse of authority leading to grave human rights violations.

We also remind the administration to strongly consider the recommendations of several UN member states at the recently concluded UN Universal Periodic Review to ratify the Convention Against Enforced Disappearance. Special attention must be given to the fact that the Philippines has submitted 625 outstanding cases of enforced disappearance to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance.

Indeed, Enforced Disappearance is a global phenomenon that requires a global response. We stand in solidarity with all families of victims of enforced disappearance and extra-judicial killing, especially Latin American families who first commemorated the International Week of the Disappeared in 1981.

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), and the In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend) demand justice for all victims of enforced disappearance.

End impunity now! End Enforced Disappearance now!

AFAD
FIND
iDefend

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[Statement] Remembering the Disappeared on All Souls’ Day: A Commemoration of Real Heroes and Martyrs -FIND/AFAD

photo-by-egay-cabalitanSTATEMENT

Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)

November 2, 2016

Remembering the Disappeared on All Souls’ Day:
A Commemoration of Real Heroes and Martyrs

FIND AFAD(NOTE: In the absence of tombs to visit, the families of victims of enforced disappearance get together to remember and honor their disappeared loved ones. This morning, they gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Center in Quezon City. The celebration of life of the disappeared as real heroes and martyrs of freedom and democracy was led by FIND Honorary Chairperson Rep. Edcel C. Lagman whose younger brother Hermon Lagman, a labor and human rights lawyer during martial law, was forcibly disappeared on May 11, 1977 and remains missing to this day.)

The making of history has produced true as well as false heroes and martyrs. Under colonial or dictatorial regimes, real political activists, human rights defenders, and revolutionaries are depreciated, denigrated, and condemned as misguided change advocates, terrorist militants or rebels without a cause.

However, when power changes hands, especially when the real makers of history emerge victorious, these perceived deviants are recognized and honored as who they really are – heroes and martyrs.

The Philippine experience is no exception. The Spanish colonial government shot to death our national hero Jose Rizal for committing rebellion. The succeeding American colonizers convicted and hanged the patriot Macario Sakay as a bandit under the American-sponsored Brigandage Act. And during martial law, thousands of conveniently-labeled “enemies of the State” were unlawfully arrested, arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and/or extrajudicially killed. A number of them are now recognized as heroes and martyrs at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani’s Wall of Remembrance.

Whether or not the names of our disappeared kin are inscribed on the Wall, or on FIND’s memorial markers at the Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido in Baclaran, they are and will always be remembered and treasured. Their courage and steadfastness in fighting for human rights and dignity, empowerment and development, truth and justice amidst repression and disinformation inspire us to sustain the struggle for these people-centered causes.

After all, these causes remain mere aspirations for most Filipinos. Seeking their full realization is our way of making the spirit of our loved ones live on. This, we believe, is the best way we can do justice to their sacrifices and selfless love of country.

Pursuing the vision of the disappeared and other victims of State-sponsored violence is the key to breaking impunity and building enduring peace.

Remembering on All Souls’ Day the disappeared, who might have been heavily tortured to death and unceremoniously dumped in unmarked graves we know not where, forms part of our sustained celebration of the lives of real heroes and martyrs without tombs.

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[Statement] Bongbong Marcos has no right to deny that inhumane and cruel transgressions were committed during his father’s regime -FIND/AFAD

Bongbong Marcos has no right to deny that inhumane and cruel transgressions were committed during his father’s regime

Statement of HR Defenders, families and advocates against enforced disappearance on All Souls’ day

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With no tombs or columbaria to visit, the families of the disappeared who are members of FIND gather every year on All Souls’ Day at the Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido at the Baclaran Church grounds to pray, offer flowers, light candles, and share memories of the sterling lives and martyrdom of their missing loved ones.

FIND AFAD

Today, these poignant memories are mocked and dishonored by Bongbong Marcos who insists that the best administration was that of his father’s as he glosses over the existence of some 100,000 victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime. Among these, FIND has documented 882 victims of enforced disappearance, with the number of undocumented cases believed to be much higher.

Survivors of enforced disappearance under martial law and the families of the disappeared are living witnesses to the rampant human rights violations during the dark years of the Marcos dictatorship. They can tell Bongbong Marcos to his face their harrowing experiences of repression and injustice.

The martial law human rights violations victims Claims Board is currently validating supporting documents covering more than 70,000 victims.

Bongbong Marcos may not have directly perpetrated human rights violations, but he has no right to deny that these inhumane and cruel transgressions were committed during his father’s regime or to concede there were victims but at the same time dismiss them as unintended collateral damage.

Bongbong Marcos brazenly adds insult to injury by disregarding the fact that it was his father’s administration that launched the infamous floating rate in 1970, a de facto devaluation of the peso that persists to this day; the ballooning of the country’s foreign debt whose principal and interest payments have gobbled up the government’s meager resources for basic social services; the occurrence of the highest inflation rates in Philippine economic history in 1976 and in 1983; and the rising number of Filipinos living below the poverty threshold.

It’s a shame for Senator Marcos who now aspires to be Vice President to flaunt his perfidious ignorance of Philippine history and the country’s political economy.

Instead of trying hard to clear his father’s name, the noble thing for him to do is to apologize on his behalf, and help the victims and their families attain justice by supporting measures on accountability, truth recovery, reparations, and institutional reforms.

Since enforced disappearances are generally continuing offenses, President Aquino must now order the long overdue serious investigations into these unresolved cases toward bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Contact person:     Celia L. Sevilla, 0932-8165564/0917-9522123
FIND National and International Advocacy Program Coordinator

FIND
Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance

AFAD
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances

PRESS STATEMENT ON ALL SOULS’ DAY
02 NOVEMBER 2015

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[Press Release] Martial Law still haunts victims -FIND

Martial Law still haunts victims

“There can be no apt and solemn commemoration of the declaration of martial law if there is no full and expeditious enforcement of laws redressing the victims of martial rule and the prevention of human rights abuses which it spawned.”

FIND

This is the call of former Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, the principal author of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 and the Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

According to Lagman, “recognition must be coupled with monetary and non-monetary compensation, emphasizing that although nothing can fully compensate for the harm and dire effects of martial law, the State must give reparation as part of serving justice.”

Forty-two years ago, then President Ferdinand E. Marcos, placed the entire country under martial law purportedly to suppress lawlessness, violence and rebellion.

To the families of victims of enforced disappearance, martial law reminds them of a self-serving charter change that created a mongrel government and lifted the term limits for the president; the imposition of a “new society” paradigm which served as the framework for distorting history and discouraging critical thinking; and a contrived setting that facilitated monopolies, cartels, plunder and corruption, even as it spawned extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary arrest and detention.

“But the waves of repression and deceit could not drown the courage and bravery of patriots and nationalists who consistently unmasked the dictator and refused to be cowed,” Nilda Sevilla, Co-Chairperson of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) pointed out.

“Martial law stoked the flames of resistance as hundreds of fearless activists steadfastly fought for freedom and democracy,” Lagman added.

Lagman and Sevilla’s brother Atty. Hermon C. Lagman, a labor and human rights lawyer, was forcibly disappeared along with labor organizer Victor Reyes on May 11, 1977.

From day one, martial law unleashed its fury on those conveniently labeled “enemies of the State”. Among the victims were the desaparecidos. According to Sonny Resuena, FIND’s Documentation Officer, the organization has documented 882 reported desaparecidos under the Marcos dictatorship, but the number of unreported could be much higher.

Enforced disappearance is a tool of repression that the implementers of martial law used to stifle dissent, silence the critics of the regime, eliminate political opponents, and intimidate their supporters.

Reacting to those who urge the martial law victims to now move on, Sevilla said that “without truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, martial law will continue to haunt the families of the disappeared and those who surfaced alive.”

She elaborated that “they need to know the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their disappeared loved ones. The passage of time is no reason for the authorities to no longer diligently investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. At the very least, the State must acknowledge the enforced disappearances and other human rights violations and give the victims due recognition as heroes and martyrs who courageously resisted martial law.”

FIND calls on the people to resist any threat to democracy and say, “never again to martial law.”

PRESS RELEASE
20 September 2014

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[Event] Kalbaryo ng Kawalang Katarungan, Ang Pitong Wika: Paninilay at Panalangin ng mga Iwinala -FIND

KKK

A lenten activity of FIND this Holy Wednesday. Kalbaryo ng Kawalang Katarungan, Ang Pitong Wika: Paninilay at Panalangin ng mga Iwinala.

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[Event] A forum on “Effective Implementation of Republic Act No. 10353: A Collective Endeavor”

A forum on “Effective Implementation of Republic Act No. 10353: A Collective Endeavor”

Forum image by FIND

The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) together with the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) and in partnership with the Embassy of Canada and the UP Asian Center, are organizing a forum on “Effective Implementation of Republic Act No. 10353: A Collective Endeavor” in order to make the special penal law on enforced disappearance an effective tool to combat impunity.

 March 6, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the UP Asian Center.

#EnforcedDisappearance #EndImpunity

[Statement] A meaningful Christmas gift -FIND

A MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT

The families of victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance welcome Republic Act 10350 or the “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012” and consider it as a timely and meaningful Christmas gift to them.

We are truly grateful to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for finally signing the bill into law yesterday, the principal authors specially FIND’s Honorary Chairperson Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, the House of Representatives for approving it on third and final reading in the last three consecutive Congresses, the Senate for passing it ahead of the House in the 15th Congress, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for consistently endorsing the measure since she was Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, the Philippine Supreme Court for spearheading the National Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances in 2007 and for specifying the involvement of state agents in the commission of these offenses, and all those who supported the measure and recommended its signing to the President, more particularly our colleagues in the human rights community.

After the 16-year uphill battle of pursuing its enactment into law, we now face greater challenges in responsibly promulgating the Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations jointly with the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Commission on Human Rights and the Desaparecidos in consultation with other human rights organizations as provided under Section 28 of the law.

Having learned lessons from the implementation or non-implementation of R.A. 9745 (Anti-Torture Act of 2009), we are determined to be more vigilant, proactive and to comply with the law’s mandate to help “ensure the full dissemination” of the anti-enforced disappearance law and its implementing guidelines to the public, more particularly to its principal implementers.

We demand concrete and meaningful justice including reparation to all desaparecidosand their families. Thus, we commit to do our best to eschew any attempt to dilute, weaken or reduce the Act into a mere paper law.

We also urge Congress to exercise its oversight function to monitor and ensure compliance with the law.

We are aware, however, that compliance with the law alone does not guarantee non-repetition of the offense or the end of enforced disappearances. The commission of enforced disappearance will not stop unless the social structures that breed poverty, ignorance, and exploitation remain unchanged. These conditions that give rise to political dissent and mass protest must be reformed, if not eradicated, as the political activists who clamor for or initiate change are likely to be silenced, immobilized and eventually eliminated from the political arena through unabated enforced disappearances.

We need genuine societal change even as we enforce laws that hold human rights violators accountable for their offenses.

NILDA L. SEVILLA
Co-Chairperson, FIND

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[Statement] Honoring and celebrating the life, struggle and triumph of the desaparecidos and their families -FIND

Honoring and celebrating the life, struggle and triumph of the desaparecidos and their families

Photo by Richie Supan and Celia Sevilla

This time of the year, Filipino families pay tribute to their dearly departed with prayers and lighted candles. The case, however, is different with the families of the disappeared. Families of victims of enforced disappearance have to deal with their missing kin, whose whereabouts have been concealed for endless years. Enforced disappearance is a heinous offense perpetrated by state agents to maintain the status quo. Its roots in the Philippines can be traced back to the dark days of Martial Law, Ferdinand Marcos’ despotic rule, and has continued since then.

In a society that yearns for change and development, various individuals rise to stand up for peoples’ rights and defend the interests of the marginalized sectors. These agents of change are prey to the perpetrators of enforced disappearance. Clueless on the fate and whereabouts of their missing kin, the families, relatives and friends can only offer mass and prayers in honor of such martyrs.

In Metro Manila, relatives, human rights advocates and other support groups annually converge at the Baclaran Redemptorist church grounds in Parañaque City. It has become a tradition, a pilgrimage that had been going on for nineteen years since the unveiling in 1994 of the Flame of Courage Monument now known as the Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido. They gather to pray, light candles, offer flowers, poems, and songs to their missing loved ones.

Anxiety, anger, anguish and pain marked previous fellowships. But towards the end of every gathering each one is hopeful that, one day, their sufferings will ultimately make enforced disappearance a thing of the past. Today’s commemoration is most special, indeed, for ‘hope springs eternal’ for the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). The light at the end of the tunnel is forthcoming.

On October 16, 2012, both the Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the proposed Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012. The proposed law considers enforced disappearance as a continuing offense until the victim reappears or is found alive; it protects and guarantees the rights of all persons against enforced disappearance under all circumstances. It accords absolute right to every person detained to communicate and inform his or her family, relatives, lawyer including human rights organizations. It also entitles victims to restitution, rehabilitation and compensation. A maximum penalty of life imprisonment is imposed on those found guilty of committing such crime.

FIND commends the legislators of the two chambers who authored, championed and sacrificed for the cause of the desaparecidos all throughout. Worthy of mention is FIND’s Honorary Chairperson, Representative Edcel C. Lagman, who in behalf of the victims stayed at the forefront of the legislative battle in pursuing a policy criminalizing enforced disappearance.

We strongly urge His Excellency, President Simeon Benigno Aquino III to immediately sign the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Bill into law and commence its effectivity. This domestic law will be the first of its kind in Asia.

The enactment of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 should hasten the Philippines’ signing and ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The domestic law and the international convention are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

FIND’s Co-Chairperson Mrs. Nilda Lagman Sevilla. Photo by Richie Supan and Celia Sevilla

FIND’s members and staff in an instant mural.

Families remember victims of enforced disappearance on all souls day.

FIND members remembering the disappeared at Bantayog ng Desaparecidos.

All photos by Richie Supan and Celia Sevilla

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[Statement] The Campaign Against Enforced Disappearance: The Philippine Experience by Rep. Edcel Lagman

The Campaign Against Enforced Disappearance: The Philippine Experience
(Keynote Speech of Rep. Edcel C. Lagman on the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, 2012 at Bocobo Hall, UP Law Center)

After 35 years of searching and fighting for justice for a desaparecido son, Atty. Hermon C. Lagman, a human rights and labor lawyer, who disappeared during martial law, my mother Mrs. Cecilia Castelar Lagman, founding Chairperson of FIND and a member of the first Board of Directors of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation, Inc., on August 13, 2012, joined her creator and other relatives of the disappeared who have gone ahead of us.

It is, indeed, lamentable that after the long and relentless fight, relatives of the disappeared grow old and die without finding their missing kin and even as justice for the extremely odious act remains elusive.

While most families of the disappeared fail to locate their missing kin, in the words of former Senator Jovito Salonga “…in a profound sense, we have already found them and we are finding them whenever men and women continue the valiant struggle for truth, freedom, justice and national sovereignty. We find them wherever the youth of the land offer their talents, energies, and resources for a cause bigger than life itself.”

The campaign against enforced disappearance, therefore, interlocks with the peoples’ struggle for a liberating truth, empowering democracy, enduring peace built on justice, and respectable sovereignty.

These were the unshakable dreams and aspirations that our disappeared heroes and martyrs steadfastly sought to realize and for which they selflessly sacrificed their liberty and life.

The collective struggle for freedom and life with dignity and honor does not end with the forced disappearance of activist advocates. To paraphrase Senator Salonga: the disappeared are resurrected in the men and women who courageously sustain the struggle for the causes fought for by the martyrs of social and political transformation. As the struggle continues, history constantly reminds the inheritors of the past to uphold human dignity and protect all persons from human rights violations. The most cruel among these transgressions and one that violates practically all human rights is enforced disappearance.

A global tool of political repression, enforced disappearance is practiced by no less than 87 States, including the Philippines. We surmise that the campaign against enforced disappearance in the country had its stirrings in the first anguished cries of protest from the relatives, comrades and colleagues of the early desaparecidos.

Since these political activists belonged to politicized middle class families, it did not take long for nine of the grieving families to bond together and decide to collectively fight against enforced disappearance and for justice for their missing loved ones.

Thus, on November 23, 1985, the Crismo, Del Rosario, Lagman, Ontong, Pardalis, Reyes, Romero, Tayag and Yap families founded the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) with the invaluable assistance of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), notably its then Chairperson Sister Marianni Dimaranan.

Henceforth, FIND has taken the lead in the organized campaign against enforced disappearance. The guiding direction of the campaign is to transform the crusade against enforced disappearance from a familial mission into a bigger societal agenda by the human rights community with FIND at the helm.

Securing public support for the fight against enforced disappearance is imperative amidst the prevailing culture of impunity. The call to hold government authorities, more particulary the security forces, accountable for acts of enforced disappearance had for many years fallen on deaf ears. Persistent collective efforts of human rights advocates and defenders to engage concerned authorities in addressing enforced disappearance have in no small measure enlightened certain individuals in government on the urgency of instituting protection from enforced disappearance and of putting an end to impunity.

Consequently, after languishing in seven Congresses, the anti-enforced disappearance counterpart bills have been passed by both the House and the Senate. The House of Representatives last Tuesdayelected seven of its members, namely: Representatives Niel Tupas, Jr., Rene Relampagos, Lorenzo Tanada III, Karlo Alexei Nograles, Magtanggol Gunigundo, Carlos Padilla and this representation as conferees to the bicameral conference committee on House Bill No. 98 and Senate Bill No. 2817 or the anti-enforced or involuntary disappearance bills. The Senate has yet to elect its conferees.

House Bill No. 98 and Senate Bill No. 2817 have no significant disagreeing provisions, except some differences in style, absence in either version of counterpart provisions which are not overriding, and the lack of an appropriation language in the Senate bill. We expect a smooth-sailing bicameral conference soonest. I am confident that the President will sign the enrolled bill once it is transmitted to Malacanang.

It should be recalled that the anti-enforced disappearance bill has been in the House of Representatives since 1990 or 22 years. The first bill that sought to criminalize enforced disappearance was not supported by FIND and other human rights organizations because it imposed the death penalty on the perpetrators. In the 9th Congress, the late Rep. Bonifacio Gillego of Sorsogon introduced a new anti-disappearance bill that imposed reclusion perpetua as the gravest penalty.

When I returned to Congress in 2004, I immediately filed a revised version of the bill which was later consolidated with similar measures. This bill was approved by the House on third and final reading and promptly transmitted to the Senate which, unfortunately, failed to approve the counterpart measure. In the following 14th Congress, I reintroduced the bill which was also passed by the House but the Senate again was unable to approve its own version of the bill.

Among the common salient provisions of House Bill No. 98, which I principally authored, and Senate Bill No. 2817, the current bills in the 15th Congress, are:
1. Penalizing enforced disappearance as a separate criminal offense.
2. Adopting the United Nations definition of enforceddisappearance that principally makes liable agents of the State and excludes non-state actors as perpetrators;
3. Declaring the right against enforced disappearance as non-derogable or cannot be suspended under any circumstances including political instability, threat of war, state of war or other public emergencies;
4. An act constituting enforced or involuntary disappearance shall be considered a continuing offense as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim is unknown;
5. Inapplicability of the Statute of Limitations for victims whose fate and whereabouts remain unclarified;
6. Maintenance of up-to-date registers of datainees and prisoners;
7. Expeditious disposition and enforcement of court orders and rulings;
8. Penal sanctions ranging from arresto mayor to reclusion perpetua;
9. Preventive suspension or summary dismissal, if warranted, of perpetrators;
10. Liability of offenders under other national criminal laws;
11. Inapplicability of double jeopardy under international law;
12. Criminal liability of commanding officers or superiors;
13. Right to disobey an order to commit enforced disappearance;
14. Exclusion of offenders from amnesty and similar measures;
15. Restitution of honor,monetary compensation to and rehabilitation ofvictims and next-of-kin.

A law criminalizing enforced disappearance is of overriding significance in bringing perpetrators to justice. No existing penal law captures all the constitutive elements of enforced disappearance which must be a distinct offense. However, in the absence of a law penalizing enforced disappearance, some families of the disappeared have filed kidnapping and serious illegal detention and/or murder against suspected perpetrators.

It is high time that we label as enforced or involuntary disappearance the act of depriving a person of his/her liberty by State authorities followed by a denial of the arrest, abduction or detention or concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the victim. A law criminalizing enforced disappearance as an autonomous offense would facilitate the filing of appropriate criminal charges against the offenders and hopefully deter others from committing the same odious multiple violation of human rights.

Legal protection from a global menace must be guaranteed in both the national and international levels. Hence, the relentless campaign for the Philippines to enact a domestic law penalizing enforced disappearance and to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

FIND and AFAD actively participated in the final drafting of the Convention in the United Nations in Geneva and joined other associations of families of the disappeared in lobbying for the adoption of the Convention by the United Nations Human Rights Council and subsequently by the United Nations General Assembly. In fact, both FIND andAFAD delivered oral interventions to urge the UN Human Rights Council to adopt the Convention at the Council’s opening session in June 2006.

Moreover, the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED), of which FIND and AFAD are members, with AFAD serving as the current focal organization, has been lobbying States across continents, more particularly in Asia, to sign and ratify the Convention and recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearance that would monitor States Parties’ compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

I do not wish to preempt the presentation of the policy paper on the Convention by the Institute of Human Rights of the UP Law Center but I assure you that the proposed Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law and the Convention are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Their full implementation would undoubtedly strengthen legal protection from enforced disappearance even as it would promote human rights and civil liberties and uphold the rule of law. It would serve as an enduring tribute to the desaparecidos and their families who have kept the flame of courage incessantly burning in pursuing the vision of the disappeared of a society and a world free of exploitation and human rights violations.

On a personal note, I dedicate the soon-to-be-enacted Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Law to my late human rights advocate mother, Mrs. Cecilia Castelar Lagman. This was also intimated to me by Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III, another author of the bill, during my mother’s wake.

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[Event] National Human Rights Forum on Enforced Disappearance -AFAD and FIND

Dear All,

On the last week of May, families of the victims of enforced disappearance around the world will observe the International Week of the Disappeared following the Latin American tradition.

To commemorate this occasion in the country, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) in cooperation with the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) will hold series of activities to intently bring this human rights issue to public attention and to reiterate its call on the Philippine government to immediately sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to enact the anti-enforced disappearance law without further delay. We believe that these two legal measures are concrete steps towards ensuring accountability and ending impunity for human rights violations.

Joining us in these activities is Mr. Jeremy Sarkin, the former Chairperson-Rapporteur and incumbent member of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), in his personal capacity as a UN expert who will be arriving in Manila on May 29, 2012.

Mr. Sarkin will meet the families of the victims together with some members of House of Representatives in a public dialogue on May 31, 2012, from nine to eleven o’clock in the morning at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Matalino St. Quezon City.

The AFAD and FIND in partnership with the Presidential Human Rights Committee, will also organize the National Human Rights Forum on Enforced Disappearance which will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Makati City on June 1, 2012, from nine ‘o clock in the morning to twelve o’clock noon. This activity will serve as a venue for the multi-stakeholders dialogue that we hope to pave way for the collective actions in addressing the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in the country.

In this regard, may we earnestly invite you or your representative to join us in these activities wherein representatives from the Senate, the House of Representatives, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Commission on Human Rights, Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the diplomatic community will also be present.

We shall truly appreciate your invaluable presence in these activities as we reaffirm our commitment to the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance and other forms of human rights transgressions.

For confirmation or inquiries on our invitation, you may get in touch with Ms. Mary Aileen Bacalso at (02)-4907862 or e-mail us at afad@surfshop.net.ph.

Thank you and warmest regards.

Very truly yours,
MARY AILEEN DIEZ BACALSO                                              NILDA LAGMAN SEVILLA
Secretary General, AFAD                                                         Co-Chairperson, FIND
Focal Person, ICAED

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