By DONAVIE GUD 

MANILA – More than a decade after its passage, the law penalizing enforced disappearance remains unfunded in this year’s 2025 budget. 

The Commission on Human Rights’ budget as reflected in the General Appropriations Act (GAA)  has no specific line item providing for the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act since its enactment.

With no dedicated allocation for the law, the CHR is forced to integrate budget for the implemetation of the law in their other programs.

“The CHR remains committed to implementing RA 10353 as part of its four core mandates.This includes integrating the implementation of RA 10353 into broader human rights mechanisms such as case investigation protocols, human rights education programs, and legal assistance efforts, among others,” CHR said in a statement.

To aid the absence of a line item budget for the law, the Commission said that they will continue their work by mainstreaming their efforts on the law within their existing programs, strengthening partnerships with different groups, and advocating for the funding of the law in the succeeding budget cycle.

Enacted in 2012, RA 10353 aims to protect individuals from abduction by state forces. 

Section 30 of RA 10353 ensures the budget allocation for CHR for its implementation.

Despite this provision, there has been no specific line item dedicated to the law. However, there is a line item for a broader investigation into human rights violations, which include enforced disappearances.

From 2018 onwards, the budget for investigation services is now compressed under the item “documentation and management of complaints of human rights violations (HRVs), forensic and medico-legal services, legal assistance and counseling, financial assistance, witness security, and other adjunct protection services.”

Mere ‘decoration’  

Desaparecidos Secretary General Cristina Guevarra said that the government’s enactment of RA 10353 is not enough. 

“While it is still not working, when the law is not implemented, it is mere embellishment,” Guevarra said in Filipino.

As an organization of families of victims of enforced disappearance, Guevarra said that Desaparacidos will continue dealing with cases of government-instigated disappearance despite the absence of a line item budget in CHR. 

However, she believes that their organization would greatly benefit if there is a specific budget for the law’s implementation. 

“If there is a budget for this work, for investigations, it would bring some relief and help,” Guevarra said.

The latest data from the human rights group Karapatan show that there have been 15 desaparecidos under Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Karapatan’s records also show that there have been 1,906 documented desaparecidos from the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. up to the present. 

However, not a single conviction has been made yet.

Apart from calling for budget allocation, Guevarra also called for a review of the law while urging the government to repeal repressive laws such as the Anti Terror Law, saying that these measures would improve the implementation of RA 10353. 

“It’s a big task; beyond the implementation of the law, we need to break the culture of impunity,” Guevarra said. (RVO)

Note: The author is a journalism student from the University of the Philippines Diliman. An earlier version of this story was submitted for Journalism 109 (Writing for Popular Audience) under instructor Jan Victor Mateo.