Senate passes Senate Bill 2871 penalizing enforced or involuntary disappearance

By Marlon A. Loterte

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 27 (PIA) -- Involuntary or enforced disappearance will be a crime punishable with life imprisonment once President Benigno S. Aquino III signs Senate Bill 2871 or "Act Defining and Penalizing Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance."

On October 16, the Senate unanimously approved the bicameral conference committee report on the bill.

Enforced or involuntary disappearance is defined in the bill as “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with authorization or support from the State, followed
by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared.”

“The act of involuntary disappearance is not yet considered a crime under our existing laws. We bear witness to cases of forced disappearances, and more often, these cases are left in oblivion without putting those persons responsible for the commission of the disappearances accountable,” Senator Francis Escudero, chair of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights and principal author of the bill, said.

Once enacted into law, perpetrators of involuntary disappearance will be meted the penalty of reclusion perpetua or life sentence which is equivalent to 20 years and one day to 40 years imprisonment.

The measure also prohibits the issuance of “orders of battle” - official or otherwise - by the military, police or any law enforcement agency to justify an enforced or involuntary disappearance.

Escudero said the bill also provides that prosecution of persons responsible for the commission of enforced disappearance shall not be prescribed unless the victim surfaces alive, in which case the prescription period shall be 25 years starting from the date of reappearance.

The bill also mandates the expeditious disposition of habeas corpus and amparo proceedings and immediate compliance with any release order by virtue of such proceedings.

“There must be no compromise on strong legislation with effective corrective penal measures, even if it would mean tilting the balance much more in favor of individual rights and human dignity. There should be enough of desaparecidos, because enforced disappearances have emotionally, mentally and physically displaced mothers and fathers, sisters, brothers, children. These disappearances have caused us to be put under the tight watch of local and international rights groups and even foreign governments” the senator said.

Within six months after the measure is enacted, all related government agencies are mandated to submit an updated inventory of all officially recognized and controlled detention facilities and the list of detainees under their respective jurisdictions. (MAL/Office of Sen. Escudero/PIA5)