Families of desaparecidos urge UN to reject government’s move to delist cases of disappearances
MANILA, Philippines — Families of desaparecidos on Tuesday called on a United Nations working group to reject the Philippine government’s move to delist more than 600 cases of enforced and involuntary disappearances.
Desparecidos, or the Families of the Disappeared for Justice, said there is no basis for the delisting of 625 cases of disappearances — mostly attributed to government forces that occurred from 1975 to 2012 — as long as the victims remain missing.
The Philippine delegation formally moved for the delisting during a meeting with the UN Working Group on Enforced and Voluntary Disappearances in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital of Sarajevo last week.
“What the Philippine government will not tell the UN is that our families continue to search for the hundreds, if not thousands of desaparecidos. The painful truth that enforced disappearances also continue to this day is a glaring basis for the UN WGEID [to] reject the Duterte government’s act of covering up the truth,” Cristina Guevarra, Desaparecidos secretary general, said.
She also slammed the government’s grounds for delisting, which include being able to receive compensation under the Human Rights Victims Recognition and Reparation Act of 2013.
“Does the monetary compensation for martial law victims that victims received brought back our missing loved ones? Compensation and recognition is partial justice for rights violation victims stood firm that the passage of the law indemnifying martial law victims is history in writing that there were rights violations perpetrated by the state during the dark days of the dictatorship,” Guevarra said.
She added: “What then is the motive of the Philippine government now that after the recognition, they want our loved ones who were disappeared to be erased from official international records and even from the nation’s memory?”
‘Look into more cases of disappearances’
Desaparecidos also called on the UN WGEID to look into more cases which have not been reported to the body.
“We appeal to the UN to raise to the Duterte government how it has perpetuated enforced disappearances by looking into the cases of enforced disappearances under the current administration and how it has broken existing laws by covering up for such,” Guevarra said.
The group’s secretary general said it is more alarming that enforced disappearances continue now despite the passage of laws supposed to protect individuals from abduction and disappearance such as the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law.
“The Duterte government should not be believed in its claims that mere presence of so-called legal mechanisms or even recognition is equivalent to providing space for respite for the victims. This move of delisting desaparecidos is a malicious scheme to hide its own crimes of disappearances and impunity,” Guevarra said.
Karapatan said there were at least 759 individuals disappeared during the term of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, 821 during the term of former President Corazon Aquino, 39 during the term of Fidel Ramos and 26 during the term of Joseph Estrada.
Karapatan also documented at least 206 victims of enforced disappearances during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 29 during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III and at least eight cases during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.
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