Desaparecidos’ kin mark Day of the Disappeared

MANILA, Philippines — Families of desaparecidos  marked the International Day of the Disappeared yesterday by demanding accountability from both the Marcos and Duterte administrations for cases of enforced disappearances under their watch.

In a joint statement, Desaparecidos, an organization of families of the disappeared, and rights group Karapatan said governments have long used enforced disappearances as a tool to silence dissent, noting that the practice continues despite the passage of Republic Act 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act in 2012.

The groups cited data from past administrations showing more than 1,000 victims during the dictatorship of the elder Ferdinand Marcos, 821 under Corazon Aquino, 39 under Fidel Ramos, 26 under Joseph Estrada, 206 under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, nine under Benigno Aquino III, 20 under Rodrigo Duterte and 15 so far in the three years of the Marcos Jr. administration.

They pointed to the kidnapping of activists James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria in August, less than a week apart, as the most recent cases.

The two remain missing despite a Court of Appeals ruling granting their families’ petitions for a writ of amparo.
The groups said state authorities have repeatedly failed to comply with their duty to search for the missing, citing court rulings that found the military and police remiss in exercising extraordinary diligence.

They also criticized successive administrations for refusing to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

“Only by forging ranks and aligning their struggle with broader efforts for social change can the families of victims gain ground in their relentless quest for truth and closure, and for justice and accountability,” the groups said.

The commemoration coincided with the fifth national assembly of Desaparecidos.