Republic of the Philippines 
I 
First Regular Session 
I 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 
} 
S E N A T E  
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This proposed legislation is consistent with one of the fundamental 
concepts enshrined in the Bill of Rights that "No person shall be deprived of 
life, liberty or property without due process of law"1. It seeks to put further 
into operation Section 11, Article II of the Constitution which declares as a 
State policy the value of human dignity and the guarantee of full respect to 
human rights. 
Every now and then our society bears wimess to cases of involuntary 
and forced disappearances. Cases that have placed our country under the 
tight watch of human rights groups both local and international, and even 
foreign governments. Just recently, incidents of missing persons, famous of 
which is the Jonas Burgos case, have been reported and confirmed. And 
worse it is the military that allegedly effects and perpetrates these 
disappearances. 
Indeed, any law that seeks to temper State power must be proceeded 
against with caution so that State security and protection can likewise be 
guaranteed. However, if it becomes apparent that the very existence of 
humanity is being trampled upon by the agents of the State in the exercise of 
its power, there must be no compromise for a strong legislation with effective 
corrective penal measures, even if it would mean tilting the balance much 
more in favor of individual rights and human digiuty. 
This Bill makes a crime enforced or involuntary disappearance which 
refers to 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 the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed 
by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of 
the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such person 
outside the protection of the law. It provides as maximum penalty the penalty 
of reclusion perpetua, classified as an afflictive penalty equivalent to twenty 
(20) years and one (1) day to forty (40) years of imprisonment, without 
prejudice to civil and administrative liabilities. 
' Section 1 ,  Article 111 of the 1987 Constitution. 


In view of the foregoing, I earnestly request that we work on the 
immediate passage of this BiII. 
FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 


Republic of the Philippines 
) 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
, 
SENATE 
Bill No. 1307 
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 
AN ACT 
DEFINING 
AND 
PENALIZING 
ENFORCED 
OR 
INVOLUNTARY 
DISAPPEARANCE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate andHouse ofRepresentatives oftlze Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Enforced 
or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2007". 
SEC. 2. Declaration ofPolicy. - The State values the dignity of every human 
person and guarantees full respect for human rights for which highest priority 
shall be given to the enactment of measures for the enhancement of the right of 
all people to human dignity, the prohibition against secret detention places, 
solitary, incommunicado, or other similar foims of detention, the provision for 
penal and civil sanctions for such violations, and compensation and 
rehabilitation for the victims and their families, particularly with respect to the 
use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation or any other means which 
vitiate the free will of persons abducted, arrested, detained, disappeared or 
otherwise removed from the effective protection of the law. 
SEC. 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall 
mean: 
(1) "Enforced or involuntary disappearance" refers to 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 the authorization, support or acquiescence 
of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the 
deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or 
whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such 
person outside the protection of the law. 
(2) "Victim" refers to the disappeared person and any individual 
who has suffered harm as a direct result of an enforced or 
involuntary disappearance as defined above. 
SEC. 4. Permanent Prohibition of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. - The 
prohibition of enforced or involuntary disappearance and the fundamental 
safeguards for its prevention shall not be suspended under any circumstances 


including political instability, threat of war, state of war or other public 
emergencies. 
SEC. 5. "Order of Baffle" Not legal Ground for Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearance.- An "Order of Battle", official or otherwise, issued by the military, 
police or any law enforcement agency of the government, shall not justify an 
enforced or involuntary disappearance and shall subject the perpetrators to the 
same corresponding penalties provided in this Act. 
SEC. 6. Right of Victim of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. - It shall be 
the absolute right of a victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance to 
immediately inform &/her family, relatives, lawyer/s or a human rights 
organization by all means that are available and expeditious, by cellular or 
landline telephone, letter, courier, electronic mail, telegram, radio or other 
means, on &/her whereabouts and condition. 
SEC. 7. Person/s Keeping, Arresting or Detaining Victim/s of Enforced or 
lnvoluntury Disappearance. - Any person/s, not being a principal, accomplice or 
accessory who keeps, arrests or detains a victim of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance or who shall learn or have information of such fact, shall 
immediately report in writing on the circumstances and whereabouts of such 
victim to the nearest office of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed 
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Department of the Interior and Local 
Government (DILG), the Department of National Defense (DND), the City or 
Provincial Public Prosecutor, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as well 
as the victim's family, relatives, Iawyer/s or to a human rights organization by 
the most expedient means. 
SEC. 8. Duty of Person& to Cevfify in Writing on the Results of Inquiry into a 
Possible Victim's Whereabouts. - In case a family member, relative, lawyer, human 
rights organization or member of the media inquires with a member or official of 
any police or military detention center, the PNP or any of its agencies, the AFP or 
any of its agencies, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or any other 
agency or instrumentality of the government, as well as any hospital or morgue, 
public or private, on the presence or whereabouts of a reported victim of 
enforced or involuntary disappearance, such member or official shall 
immediately issue a certification in writing to the inquiring person or entity on 
the presence or absence and/or information on the whereabouts of such possible 
victim. 
SEC. 9. Duty of Inquesf/lnvestigating Public Prosecufor or any Judicial or 
Quasi-judicial Employee or Ofjcial. - Any inquest or investigating public 
prosecutor, or any judicial or quasi-judicial employee or official who learns of an 
enforced or involuntary disappearance and upon whom the victim of such 
disappearance is delivered for inquest or preliminary investigation or for any 
other judicial process, shall have the duty to immediately disclose such 
circumstances and the victim's whereabouts to &/her 
immediate family, 
relatives, lawyer/, or to a human rights organization by the most expedient 
means. 
SEC. 10. Oficial Up-to-Date Register of All Persons Detrained or Conjined. - All 
persons deprived of liberty shall be held solely in officially recognized and 
controlled places of detention or confinement where an official up-to-date 


register of such persons shall be maintained. A1I information contained in the 
register shall be made available to the relatives, lawyers, judges, official bodies 
and to all persons who have legitimate interest in the information, which shall 
include, among others, the following: 
(a) The identity of the person deprived of liberty; 
(b) The date, time and location where the person was deprived of liberty 
and the identity of the authority who deprived the person of liberty; 
(c) The authority having decided the deprivation of liberty and the 
reasons for the deprivation of liberty; 
(d) The authority controlling the deprivation of liberty; 
(e) The place of deprivation of liberty, the date and time of admission to 
the place of deprivation of liberty and the authority responsible for the 
place of deprivation of liberty; 
(f) Records of physical, mental and psychological condition of the victim 
before and after the deprivation of liberty; 
(8) In the event of death during the deprivation of liberty, the 
circumstances and cause of death and the destination of the human 
remains; and 
(h) The date and time of release or transfer to another place or detention, 
the destination and the authority responsible for the transfer. 
SEC. 11. Disposition of a Habeas Corpus Proceeding and Compliance wifh a 
Judicial Order. - A habeas corpus proceeding filed on behalf of the victim of 
enforced or involuntary disappearance shall be disposed of expeditiously, and 
any order of release by virtue thereof or other appropriate order of a court 
relative thereto shall be executed or complied with immediately. 
SEC. 12. Visits to or Inspection of A// Places of Detention. - Competent 
representatives of the Commission on Human Rights shall conduct regular, 
independent, unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places 
of detention and confinement. 
SEC. 13. Liabzlity of Cornntandizg Officer or Superior. - The immediate 
commanding officer or superior or the equivalent senior official of the offender 
who has the power, opportunity or authority to prevent or uncover a crime OF 
enforced or involuntary disappearance but failed to avert, discontinue or 
uncover any act of enforced or involuntary disappearance whether deliberately 
or due to negligence shall be held liable under the principle of command 
responsibility. 
SEC. 14. Penal Provisions. - (a) The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be 
imposed upon the following persons: 
(1) Those who directly committed the act of enforced or 
involuntary disappearance; 


(2) Those who directly forced, instigated, encouraged or induced 
others to commit the act of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance; 
(3) Those who cooperated in the act of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance by committing another act without which the 
act of enforced or involuntary disappearance would not have 
been carried out; 
(4) Those officials who allowed the act of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance when it is within their power to stop the 
commission of such act; and 
(5) Those who cooperated in the execution of the act of enforced or 
involuntary disappearance by previous or simultaneous acts. 
(b) The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be imposed upon those who 
attempt to commit the offense of enforced or involuntary disappearance. 
(c) The penalty of reclusion temporal shall also be imposed upon the 
persons who, having knowledge of the act of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance and without having participated therein, either as 
principals or accomplices, took part subsequent to its commission in 
any of the following manner: 
(1) By themselves profiting from or assisting the offender to profit 
from the effects of the act of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance; 
(2) By concealing the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance 
and/or destroying the effects or instruments thereof in order to 
prevent its discoveiy; or 
(3) By harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the 
principal/s in the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance, 
provided the accessory acts are done with the abuse of the 
official's public functions. 
(d) The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed against any person 
who defies, ignores or unduly delays compliance with a habens corpus 
proceeding filed on behalf of the victim of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance or to immediately follow or comply with an order of 
release by virtue of such hubeas corpus proceeding or other appropriate 
judicial order. 
(e) The penalty of arresfo mayor shall be imposed against any person who 
violates the provisions of Sections 6,7,8,9 and 10 of this Act. 
SEC. 15. Preventive Suspension. - The perpetrators of and other participants 
in the commission of enforced or involuntary disappearance shall be 
preventively suspended or prohibited from performing any official duties or 
summarily dismissed pursuant to Republic Act No. 8551, otherwise known as 


the ”Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998” and 
other laws, rules and regulations. 
SEC. 16. Prosecution of the Offense, - In the event the prosecution fails to 
prove the political motive, the deprivation of liberty of the victim who surfaces 
alive shall be punishable as kidnapping under the Revised Penal Code. If the 
victim is subsequently found dead or his/her disappearance persists for over 
three years, he/she is presumed killed by those responsible for &/her arrest or 
abduction, and the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance in either case 
shall be punishable as murder. 
SEC. 17. Liability Under Other National Criminal Laws. - The liability of the 
offender under this Act shall be independent of, in addition to, or without 
prejudice to prosecution and conviction for violation of other applicable laws 
including Republic Act No. 7438, otherwise known as “An Act Defining Certain 
Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation as well as 
the Duties of the Arresting, Detaining, and Investigating Officers, and Providing 
Penalties for Violations Thereof”, as well as the Revised Penal Code, including 
arbitrary detention, delay in the delivery of detained persons, delaying release, 
maltreatment of prisoners, unlawful arrest, incriminating innocent person, 
physical injuries, murder and any other appropriate criminal offense/s in special 
laws. 
SEC. 18. Nonexclusivity or Double Jeopardy Under International Law. - 
Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing section, any investigation, trial 
and decision in any Philippine court or other agency for any violation of this Act 
shall be without prejudice to any investigation, trial, decision or any other legal 
or administrative process before the appropriate international court or agency 
under applicable international human rights and humanitarian law. 
SEC. 19. Unlawful Order. - An order from a superior officer or a public 
authority causing the commission of enforced or involuntary disappearance is 
unlawful and cannot be invoked as a justifying circumstance. 
SEC. 20. Incentives. - Any offender who volmteers information that leads 
to the discovery of the victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance shall be 
immune from a criminal charge under this Act and shall be exempt from 
criminal prosecution, provided said offender appears not to be the most guilty of 
the crime. 
SEC. 21. Cotzfinuing Offense. - An act constituting enforced or involuntary 
disappearance shall be considered a continuing offense as long as the 
perpetrators continue to conceal the fate and whereabouts of the persons who 
have disappeared and that these facts remain unverified. 
SEC. 22. Exclusion from the Coverage of a Statute of Limitation. - The 
prosecution of persons responsible for enforced or involuntary disappearance 
shall not prescribe unless the victim surfaces alive, in which case, the prescriptive 
period shall be twenty-five (25) years starting from the date of hisjher 
reappearance. 
SEC. 23. Exclusion from the Coverage of Special Amnesty Law. - Persons who 
have committed the act of enforced or involuntav disappearance shall not 


benefit from any special amnesty law or similar measures that will have the 
effect of exempting them from any criminal proceedings and sanctions. 
SEC. 24. Stute Protection. - The State through its appropriate agencies shall 
emure the safety of all persons involved in the search, investigation and 
prosecution of enforced or involuntary disappearance including the victims, 
their families, complainants, witnesses, representatives of human rights 
organizations, media and legal counsel. They shall likewise be protected from 
any act of intimidation or reprisal as a result of the filing of charges. Any person 
committing such ilI treatment and/or acts of intimidation or reprisal shall be 
punished under existing laws. 
SEC. 25. Compensation to and/or Rehabilitation of Victims of Enfarced or 
Involuntary Disappearance and/or Their Next-of-Kin. - The victims of enforced or 
involuntary disappearance who surfaced alive shall be entitled to monetary 
compensation, rehabilitation and restitution of honor and reputation. Such 
restitution of honor and reputation shall include immediate expunging or 
rectification 
of 
any 
derogatory 
record, 
information 
or 
public 
declaration/statement on his/her personal circumstances, status, person or 
affiliation by the appropriate government or private agency or agencies 
concerned. The next-of-kin of a victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance 
may also claim for compensation as provided for under Republic Act No. 7309, 
otherwise known as “An Act Creating a Board of Claims under the Department 
of Justice for Victims of Unjust Imprisonment or Detention and Victims of 
Violent Crimes and for Other Purposes”, and other relief programs of the 
government. The package of indemnification for both the victims and the next- 
of-kin shall be without prejudice to other legal remedies that may be available to 
them. In order that the nearest of kin of victims of enforced or involuntary 
disappearance and the victims who surfaced alive may be effectively 
reintegrated into the mainstream of society and in the process of development, 
the State through the CHR shall provide them with appropriate medical care and 
rehabilitation free of charge. 
SEC. 26. Implementing Rules and Regulntions. - Within thirty (30) days from 
the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the CHR, 
the Families 
of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) and the Desaparecidos shall 
jointly promulgate the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of 
this Act and shall ensure the full dissemination of the same to the public in 
consultation with human rights organizations such as the Asian Federation 
Against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD), the KARAPATAN and 
other human rights organizations. 
SEC. 27. Monitoring of Compliance with this Act. - An oversight committee 
is hereby created to periodically oversee the implementation of this Act. The 
group shall be headed by a commissioner of the CHR and with the following as 
members: one undersecretary of the DOJ, the chairperson of the Senate 
Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the respective chairpersons of the 
House of Representatives’ Committees on Justice and Human Rights, the 
respective secretary generals of the FIND and the Desaparecidos. 
SEC. 28. Suppletoy Applications. - The provisions of the Revised Penal 
Code shall be suppletory to this Act. 


SEC. 29. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of 
this Act is declared uiiconstitutional or invalid, such other sections or provisions 
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
SEC. 30. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and 
regulations and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions 
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 31. Eflectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,