The bill also stipulates that the PNP, the AFP or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) must issue a certification in writing on the presence or absence and information on the whereabouts of a possible victim of enforced disappearances.

In Latin America, families of victims of enforced disappearances have the right to access all information called habeas data.

In the case of Jonas Joseph Burgos, a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (Peasant Alliance in Bulacan) and son of the late press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos, Jr. who was abducted by soldiers on April 28 this year, the AFP continues to deny the Burgos family a copy of the Provost Marshall report on his whereabouts. Such refusal has stirred the belief of many that the report is self-incriminating on the part of the military.

The bill to be filed by the Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) representatives also includes the awarding of compensation for relatives of victims of enforced disappearance as well as for the rehabilitation of surfaced victims.

In the Upper Chamber, Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada had already filed last June 30 a somewhat similar legislation. Senate Bill No. 7 titled “An Act Penalizing the Commission of Acts of Torture and Involuntary Disappearance of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation, and Granting Jurisdiction to the Commission on Human Rights to Conduct Preliminary Investigation for Violation of the Custodial Rights of the Accused, Amending for this Purpose Sections 2, 3 and 4 of RA 7438, and for Other Purposes.”

Estrada cited the abduction of five members of the Union of the Masses for Democracy and Justice (UMDJ) in May 2006. He said that the constitutional rights of the victims were violated and the perpetrators “remain unscathed.” The senator included the criminalization of torture in his bill.

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo had earlier filed a separate bill seeking to criminalize torture.

The passage of the said bills and the ratification of the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearance are important steps in the continuing struggle against state repression and fascism. The culture of impunity in the commission of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances has led to accusations from militant and human rights groups that these are part of the Arroyo government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Freedom Watch).

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) has called on the Filipino people to undertake different forms of protest to counter the rising tyranny.

On Aug. 30, Bayan, Desaparacidos, Karapatan, Free Jonas Burgos Movement (FJBM) and other organizations would hold a protest at the Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila. (Bulatlat.com)

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