Congress of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Republic of the Philippines

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BillNo. _ 943 __

Introduced by Rep. Cielo Krisel B. Lagman

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Enforced disappearance is a grave arbitrary deprivation of liberty perpetrated by
public authorities or by private individuals or groups acting on the orders of or with the
consent and acquiescence of public authorities who refuse to disclose information about
the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person. Some of the victims surface alive,
others are found dead or their skeletal remains exhumed, but most remain unaccounted
for or could not be located

“The enforced disappearance of a loved one is experienced by family members
as traumatic loss. Its sudden or violent nature makes it extremely devastating and
painful...

“For most families, traumatic loss results in unresolved grief which usually lasts
for many months, or even years after the disappearance. This is commonly expressed in
lingering pain, difficulty with transitions or changes, inability to make decisions,
decreased ability to cope with routine activities, inability to move on from a sense of
loss, helplessness, and despair. Unresolved grief reactions are indications of
“complicated mourning,” a condition where both trauma and grief coincide. The nature
and depth of traumatic loss and, consequently, the healing process would vary
according to factors such as availability of social support, cohesiveness of the family,
socio-economic situation, time that has elapsed since the disappearance, establishment
of truth and retrieval of the body, and the possibility of justice and reparations. Similarly,
the need to simultaneously address legal, economic and other family concerns can
make the healing process more complicated.” (Annabel Manzanilla-Manalo, Ph.D.)

“If it is an offspring or a husband that disappeared, the spouse and/or the other
children suffer much. Mothers tend to neglect their own needs and those of other
members of the family. All energy and attention are focused on searching for the missing
child or husband. Because they withdraw socially and emotionally from those around
them, there is a consequent loss of vital support from the outside.

“The family can suffer from economic distress if the missing is the breadwinner.
Those left behind who are working may be so disturbed that they cannot work and
eventually lose their job. This economic difficulty may worsen if the family spends


money on fortune-tellers, informants and other expensive administrative steps to find
out the fate of the loved one.

“Thoughts about how the loved one may have suffered or is suffering can
heighten the pain. This is compounded by the guilt that they did not do enough to
protect the victim.” (Imelda V. G. Villar, Ph.D.)

As of March 2025, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND),
had documented 2,139 out of 2,644 reported victims of enforced disappearance
nationwide since 1971. It is surmised that the actual number could be much higher as
fear of reprisal or being themselves abducted or disappeared by armed perpetrators
discourage the families of the victims from reporting.

Enforced disappearance severely impact women and children as a large majority
of the victims are male. The wives of the disappeared are suddenly thrust into an
undetermined status - neither separated legally or by mutual agreement nor widowed as
they have no foolproof evidence of their husbands’ death. Wives who come from poor
families where the disappeared husbands were the sole breadwinners become saddled
with economic difficulties of solo parenting. Others who are better off encounter different
financial issues arising from the absence of the spouse, with respect to lease or sale of
conjugal property, access to their husbands’ bank accounts, among others.

The children of the disappeared have their own share of difficulties such as
dealing with the uncertainty of their parent's fate even as they wonder whether they are
already orphaned or abandoned for reasons they can hardly comprehend. Some of
them are forced to quit school and find odd jobs to help augment the household budget
for food and other basic needs.

In response to the difficult situation of the families of the disappeared, particularly
wives and mothers, this bill seeks to recognize, albeit belatedly, this unique status
toward eliminating the stigma with which it is associated by granting them a “Certificate
of Enforced Disappearance” of their kin, not a certificate of death.

The Certificate of Enforced Disappearance may be used by family members of
the disappeared in order to be entitled to certain rights and benefits which may include
but are not limited to: access to bank accounts of family members who have
disappeared; inheritance, ownership, transfer, division or lease of property; access to
various forms of government assistance and social welfare benefits more particularly
those covered by the Healing Intervention Leading to Optimum Management for Victims
of Torture and Enforced Disappearance (Paghilom) under the auspices of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development; and the right to claim, receive and
collect the remains of the disappeared relatives once found.

Measures similar to this legislative proposal have been implemented in
Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, and Colombia. Filipino families of the disappeared
strongly urge the Philippines to join these countries in protecting and fulfilling the
economic and social rights and civil liberties of the families of the disappeared. It is high
time that government address their special needs with dispatch. For this reason,
immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

CIELO KRISEL B. LAGMAN


Congress of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Republic of the Philippines

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BillNo.__943

Introduced by Rep. Cielo Krisel B. Lagman

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCE TO IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS OF VICTIMS OF ENFORCED
OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE, DEFINING RIGHTS AND BENEFITS
ACCRUING FROM POSSESSION OF THE CERTIFICATE AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Congress of the
Philippines in session assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Certificate of
Enforced Disappearance Act of 2025.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State values the dignity of every human
person and guarantees full respect for human rights. Recognizing the inherent dignity
and universal worth of every human person, the State prohibits deprivation of liberty
without due process of law even as it declares the non-derogable right not to be
subjected to enforced disappearance. Notwithstanding this policy, in the event enforced
disappearances are committed, the State shall provide appropriate reparations to the
families of the disappeared, including provision of psychosocial support, accompaniment
and rehabilitation. Relevant government agencies shall render social services and
assistance to family members of the disappeared, the authenticity of which status shall
be affirmed by their holding of a “certificate of enforced disappearance” duly issued by a
competent authority like the Philippine Commission on Human Rights.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms
shall be defined as follows:


a. 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 group 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;

b. 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
in the preceding paragraph (a);

c. Certificate of Enforced Disappearance refers to an official document issued
to family members of the disappeared persons, affirming their status as “disappeared”
as opposed to “deceased”.

SEC. 4. Scope of the Certificate of Enforced Disappearance — A certificate
of enforced disappearance shall cover the rights of both the disappeared and their
families. The right to issuance of the certificate shall not prejudice the right of the
disappeared to be surfaced or released from detention; the right of the families to know
the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their disappeared kin, the progress and the
result of government's investigation into the disappearance; and their right to all
pertinent legal remedies and reparations available and to which they are entitled; and
the right to claim and receive the remains of the victims if found or recovered.

SEC. 5. Rights and Benefits Accruing from the Certificate of Certificate of
Enforced Disappearance. - Legal holders of the Certificate of Enforced Disappearance
shall be entitled to rights and benefits including but not limited to the following:
(a) Access to bank accounts of family members who have disappeared;
(b) Inheritance, ownership, transfer, division or lease of property;
(c) Ability to enter or formalize a new marriage in accordance with article
41 of the Family Code, Executive Order No. 209, as amended, in
relation to article 391 of the New Civil Code, Republic Act No. 386, as
amended;
(d) Monetary as well as non-monetary reparations;
(e) Access to various forms of government assistance and social welfare
benefits under Paghilom and RA 10353 otherwise known as the
“Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012";
() Access to benefits under the “Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000" (RA


8972) as amended by the “Expanded Solo Parents Act of 2022” (RA
11861);

(g) Appropriate civil status of “spouse of the disappeared” and not a widow
or widower;

(h) Recognition of the status of “child/children of the disappeared” and not
orphaned or abandoned;

(i) Right to claim, receive and collect the remains of the disappeared
relatives; and

(i) Right to file complaints under RA 10353.

SEC. 6. Inapplicability of the Statute of Limitations. — Consistent with the
continuing character of enforced disappearance and its exemption from the statute of
limitations under Sections 21 and 22 of RA 10353, the issuance of a Certificate of
Enforced Disappearance shall not bar or discontinue the prosecution of persons
responsible for enforced or involuntary disappearance or hinder the investigations that
seek to establish the truth and locate the victims alive or dead and duly identified.

SEC. 7. Authority to Issue Certificates of Enforced Disappearance. - The
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) shall issue Certificates of Enforced
Disappearance to family members of the disappeared within the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity or affinity upon their compliance with reasonable requirements, excluding
payment of application and/or processing fee.

SEC. 8. Centralized Database of Information. — In coordination with
nongovernment human rights organizations documenting cases or incidents of enforced
or involuntary disappearance, the CHR shall establish, maintain and update monthly a
centralized database of information on enforced disappearance victims from the
Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. administration up to the current dispensation. Digital security
protocols shall be strictly observed in the storage, release and sharing of information
Only persons with legitimate interest in the stored information may be allowed access
thereto.

SEC. 9. Expeditious Issuance of Certificate of Enforced Disappearance. —
The CHR shall expeditiously issue the Certificate of Enforced Disappearance within
seven (7) days upon filing of application with the National Central Office or fourteen (14)
days if the application is filed with any of the CHR's regional offices.

The Certificate of Enforced Disappearance shall be valid for a period of seven (7)


years from the date of issuance at which expiration, the concerned family may opt for a
death certificate or a renewal of the Certificate of Enforced Disappearance for an
indefinite period.

SEC. 10. Revocation of the Certificate of Enforced Disappearance. The
Certificate of Enforced Disappearance may be revoked anytime if the disappeared
person is found alive or has reappeared as construed under Section 23 of the
Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10353, or whose remains have been
exhumed or recovered. Revocation shall be without prejudice to investigation into the
past disappearance, prosecution of those responsible for the offense and grant of
reparation to the surfaced victim and his or her family or the family of the victims whose
remains have been exhumed or recovered and returned to the family.

Section 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days
from the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the CHR, and the Families of Victims of
Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in consultation with other human rights organizations,
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.

SEC. 12. Separability Clause. — If for any reason any part or provision of this Act
is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not
affected thereby shall remain and continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 13. 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. 14. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation or the Official Gazette.

Approved,