R.A.
10353: AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING ENFORCED OR
INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE
INTRODUCTION
In International Human Rights law, a forced disappearance (or enforced
disappearance) is defined as an act where a person is secretly abducted or
imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the
authorization, support, or consent of a state or political organization, followed by a
refusal to acknowledge the person's fate and location or situation, with the intent of
placing the victim outside the protection of the law.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which came into
force on 1 July 2002, states that when this act is committed as part of a widespread
or systematic attack directed at any civilian population, a "forced disappearance"
qualifies as a crime against humanity and, thus, is not subject to a statute of
limitations. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on
December 20, 2006.
In cases of Enforced disappearance, it often denotes murder, where the
victim is abducted, illegally detained and often tortured during interrogation;
killed, and the body hidden. Naturally, a murder will be surreptitious, with the
cadaver disposed of to escape discovery, so that the person apparently vanishes.
Therefore, the perpetrator/s committing murder has deniability as to nobody could
give any evidence on the victims death.
REPUBLIC ACT 10353
Republic Act 10353 or The Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance
Act of 2012 closely reflects international legal standards on enforced
disappearance. This law that criminalizes enforced disappearances in the
Philippines is the first of its kind in Asia and a major milestone in ending this
horrific human rights violation according to the HUMAN RIGHT WATCH.
The new law states that anyone convicted of committing an enforced
disappearance faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and may not receive an
amnesty. Superior officers who order or are otherwise implicated in a
disappearance face the same penalty as those who directly carried out the crime.
The government cannot suspend the law even in times of war or public emergency.
A crucial provision of the law says that those accused of forced
disappearances may not invoke orders of battle military documents that
identify alleged enemies as justification or an exempting circumstance. Many
victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines
have been listed or said to have been listed in such orders of battle. The law
specifically allows a person who receives an illegal order to commit a
disappearance to disobey it.
The law also prohibits secret detention facilities. The government is to make
a full inventory of all detention facilities in the Philippines and create a registry of
every detainee, complete with all relevant details including who visited the
detainee and how long the visit lasted. It also mandates and authorizes the
governmental Commission on Human Rights to conduct regular, independent,
unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places of detention and
confinement. Human rights organizations are encouraged to assist the Justice
Department in proposing rules and regulations for enforcement.
President Aquino and the Congress deserve credit for acting to end the
scourge of enforced disappearances in the Philippines, said Brad Adams, Asia
director. This law is a testament to the thousands of disappearance victims since
the Marcos dictatorship, whose long-suffering families are still searching for
justice. The challenge now is for the government to move quickly to enforce the
new law.
Effective enforcement of this new law by the Philippine government will
deter enforced disappearances and address the deep-seated problem of impunity for
human rights abusers, Adams said.
Under President Ferdinand Marcos, enforced disappearances were rampant,
as the military and police routinely rounded up activists and suspected communist
rebels and supporters. The practice did not end with Marcoss ouster in 1986.
Many enforced disappearances occurred during the administration of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Several activists have disappeared since Aquino took
office in 2010, according to local rights groups, though there are no allegations that
these were ordered by Aquino or other members of his government.
Human Rights Watch detailed some cases of disappearances in its 2010
report, No Justice Just Adds to the Pain, and in a video released earlier in 2012
in which family members of the disappeared call on President Aquino to live up to
his promises of justice.
The Philippine government should also sign the International Convention for
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and transmit it to the
Senate for prompt ratification. In Asia, only Japan has ratified the convention,
although Laos, India, Indonesia, and Thailand have signed it.
President Aquino should be commended for these two important human
rights laws, but too often new laws in the Philippines are followed by inaction,
Adams said. Aquino now needs to demonstrate leadership to overcome the
obstacles to these laws and ensure they are fully enforced.
