The first bill that sought to criminalize enforced disappearance (then called unexplained disappearance) was filed on 04 September 1990 by Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson, Jr.  Other bills penalizing enforced disappearance were filed in the following Congresses. The House of Representatives in the 13th Congress approved the Anti-Disappearance Bill on 3rd and final reading on 29 May 2006 and was received by the Senate two days later. Lamentaby, the Senate failed to act on it and its own counterpart versions of the measure.

I see no reason for the current Congress to temporize on passing a special law penalizing enforced disappearance as a distinct crime separate from kidnapping, serious illegal detention and/or murder.

On the contrary, it is urgent for this Congress to enact an Anti-Disappearance Law now for the following reasons:

1. It is undeniable that this vile offense persists and its perpetrators continue to act with brazen audacity. Not a single case has been resolved. No perpetrator has been punished.  No victim or his/her family has been indemnified.
2. The harm inflicted on both the disappeared and his/her family and the anxiety over the uncertain fate of the missing could be immeasurable and intolerable.  The act is an affront on the dignity of both the victim and the offender and a serious threat to the moral fabric of society.
3. The proposed law does not only seek to impose penalties but more importantly it also aims to institute preventive measures.
4. Notwithstanding the penal sanctions, the proposed legislation provides for the rehabilitation of both the  victims and the offenders in pursuit of restorative justice.
5. The National Consultative Summit on Extra-Judicial  Executions and Enforced Disappearances that the Supreme Court spearheaded in July last year strongly recommended the enactment of a special law penalizing enforced disappearance as a crime district from kidnapping; and
6. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her last State of the Nation Address urged Congress to enact laws addressing political violence such as  those ‘reserving the harshest  penalties for the rogue elements in the uniformed services who betray public trust and bring shame to the greater number  of their colleagues who are patriotic”.

Specifically, among the salient provisions of House Bill No. 326 are:

1. Adopts the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance’s definition of enforced disappearance that limits the commission of the crime, directly or indirectly, to agents of the state;
2. Considers disappearance as a continuing offense as long as the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person have not been determined with certainty;
3. Proscribes enforced disappearance and the suspension of fundamental safeguards for its prevention under all circumstances including political instability, threat of war, state of war or any other public emergency;
4. Mandates expeditious disposition of a habeas corpus proceeding and immediate compliance with any release order by virtue of such proceeding;
5. Prescribes penal sanctions for enforced disappearance ranging from arresto mayor to reclusion perpetua depending on the gravity of the offense;
6. Guarantees the right to information on the whereabouts of detained persons and access to the places where they are held by their families, relatives, lawyers, judges and other persons and/or official bodies with legitimate interest in such information and the condition of the detainees;
7. Provides for preventive suspension or summary dismissal of perpetrators of and other participants in the commission of enforced disappearance pursuant to R.A. 8551, the “Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998” and other laws, rules and regulations;
8. Holds the commanding officer/superior or equivalent senior official of the offender liable  for failure to prevent, discontinue or uncover an  enforced disappearance;
9. Entitles victims of enforced disappearance and their next-of-kin to monetary compensation, restitution and rehabilitation.

On 11 May 1977, my younger brother, Hermon C. Lagman, a labor and human rights lawyer during Martial Law involuntarily disappeared.  I accompanied my mother to search for my brother in various military camps and detention facilities.  He was nowhere to be found.  Perhaps we were able to talk with his captors or their commanding officers, but all we got were denials of his whereabouts.

Only the families of victims of enforced disappearance can fathom the depths of pain and anguish that this inhuman offense inflicts.  Hence, it is imperative that the offenders realize the gravity of their offense, rectify and make amends, and let restorative justice take its course.

On behalf of all the families of victims of enforced disappearance, some of whom are here with us this morning, I earnestly urge the committees on justice and human rights to immediately approve a consolidated version of the four anti-disappearance bills under consideration.  I am certain that the proposed law, which reaffirms the principles of State accountability, justice and the rule of law, could help government prevent, suppress, investigate and penalize  enforced disappearances as well as provide the disappeared and their families effective machinery for reparation and redress.  Ultimately, our goal is to make enforced disappearance permanently disappear as a global offense and as a crime against humanity.