Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House siti no. 2926

Introduced AKBAYAN Representatives Walden F. Bello and Kaka J. Bag-ao

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Our Constitution guarantees full respect for human rights by the State and provides that
the State values the dignity of every human person (Sec. 11, Art. I, 1987 Constitution). It
further provides for full protection to the rights to life, liberty and security of all persons.

These provisions reflect our adherence to the major international human rights
instruments to which we are signatories and a State Party, including the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights,
and the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, among others. But more importantly, it reflects our dark experience as a
people under the yoke of martial Jaw and the tyrannical and dictatorial rule of former
President Ferdinand Marcos, and our resolve after the EDSA revolution that the human
rights violations that our people suffered, including the many cases of forced or
involuntary disappearances, shall never again be repeated.

Unfortunately, more than 20 years since the adoption and ratification of our
Constitution, cases of forced or involuntary disappearances continue, together with
extrajudicial killings. The Melo Commission, the Alston Report and the Supreme Court-
initiated Summit all condemned the high incidence of these human rights violations and
made recommendations to address the problem.

Among the recommendations are the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute and
its signing and ratification of the recently adopted International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. It was also recommended to
pass legislation criminalizing forced or involuntary disappearances and torture.

It is against this background that this bill is filed. It conforms to the features of other bills,
filed for the same purpose, but differs in its universal coverage of all persons who are
responsible for these acts, in accordance with the definition and high standard set by
the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. With its adoption,
the bill would be an effective instrument to address and check this phenomenon

KL

WALDEN F. BELLO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

F oC
House Bill No.0

Introduced by AKBAYAN Representatives Walden F. Bello and Kaka J. Bag-ao

AN ACT
DEFINING AND PENALIZING ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY
DISAPPEARANCE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearance Act of 200:

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~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 the right of all people to human dignity, the prohibition against secret
detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention, the
provision for penal and civil sanctions for such violation, 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 have the
following meanings:

(1) “Enforced or involuntary disappearance” refers to the arrest, detention, abduction
or any other form of deprivation of liberty of persons by, or with the authorization,
support or acquiescence of government authorities or a political organization,
including armed rebel groups, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation
of liberty or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons, with
the intention of removing them from 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.

(3) “Order of Battle” refers to a document made by the military, police or any law
enforcement agency of the Government, listing the names of persons and
organizations that it perceives to be enemies of the State and that it considers as
legitimate military targets that it could deal with through the use of military means
allowed by domestic and international law. It also refers to a similar document
drawn up by political organizations, including armed rebel groups, listing their own
perceived enemies.



SEC. 4, Non-Derogability of the Right against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance.
— The right against 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. 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. 6. Order of Battle. — An Order of Battle, as defined in Section 3 (3), official or
otherwise, issued by the military, police or any law enforcement agency of the
Government, or by a political organization including armed rebel groups, shall not ju:
an enforced or involuntary disappearance and its perpetrator(s) shall be subject to the
penalties provided under section 19 of this Act.

SEC. 7. Continuing 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 disappeared person and such circumstances have not
been determined with certainty.

SEC. 8. Exclusion from the Coverage of the Statute of Limitations. ~ 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 his/her reappearance.

SEC. 9. Exclusion from the Coverage of Special Amnesty and Probation Laws. ~ Persons
who have committed the act of enforced or involuntary 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. The provisions of Presidential
Decree No. 968, otherwise known as the Probation Law of 1976, particularly Section 4
thereof, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1990, shall not apply to persons
convicted of the crime of enforced or involuntary disappearance.

SEC. 10. Right of a Person under Detention. — It shall be the absolute right of a person
under detention to immediately inform his/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
his/her whereabouts and condition.

SEC. 11. Person Keeping or Detaining Victim of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance.
= Any person, not being a principal, accomplice or accessory who keeps 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, the City or Provincial Prosecutor, the
Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) as well as the victim's family,
relatives, lawyer/s or to a human rights organization by the most expedient means.

SEC. 12. Duty to Certify in Writing on the Results of Inquiry into a Reported
Disappeared Person’s Whereabouts. — In case a family member, relative, lawyer,
representative of a 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 disappeared person.

SEC. 13. Duty of Inquest/Investigating Public Prosecutor or any Judicial or Quasi-
Judicial Employee or Official. — Any inquest or investigating public prosecutor, or any
judicial or quasi-judicial employee or official who learns that the person delivered for
\quest or preliminary investigation or for any other judicial process is a victim of
enforced or involuntary disappearance shall have the duty to immediately disclose the
victim’s whereabouts to his/her immediate family, relatives, lawyer/s or to a human
rights organization by the most expedient means.

SEC. 14. Prohibition against Secret Detention Centers. — Secret detention places,
solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.

SEC. 15. Official Up-to-Date Register of All Persons Detained or Confined. — 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. All 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;

(g) 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 of detention, the
destination and the authority responsible for the transfer.

SEC. 16. Visit to or Inspection of All Places of Detention. — Competent representatives
of the Commission on Human Rights shall conduct independent, regular and/or
unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places of detention and
confinement.

SEC. 17. Disposition of a Proceeding for a Writ of Habeas Corpus or a Writ of Amparo
and Compliance with a Judicial Order. - A proceeding for the issuance of a writ of
habeas corpus or a writ of amparo filed in 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. 18. 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, as provided
in Section 19; 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
discovery; 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 court order of release from a
proceeding for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus or a writ of amparo filed on
behalf of the victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance or to immediately follow
or comply with such order or other appropriate judicial orders.

(e) The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed against any person who
violates the provisions of Sections 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of this Act.

SEC. 19. Command Responsibility; Liability of Commanding Officer or Superior. ~ The
commanding officer or superior or the equivalent senior official of the military, police or
other law enforcement agencies, or other authorities or political organizations, including
armed rebel groups, who has effective command and control, or effective authority and
control, as the case may be, of the forces under him/her, shall be held liable under the
principle of command responsibility for acts of enforced or involuntary disappearance
committed by said forces as a result of his/her failure to exercise control properly over
such forces, where said commanding officers or authorities knew or, owing to the
circumstances at the time, should have known that said forces were committing or
about to commit such crimes, and failed to take all necessary and reasonable means
within his/her power to prevent or repress their commission, or to submit the matter to
the competent authorities for investigation and prosecution

SEC. 20. 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 applicable laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 21. 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 Persons 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 persons, physical injuries, murder and any other appropriate
criminal offense/s in special laws.

SEC. 22. Incentives. - Any offender who volunteers 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, 23, State Protection from Intimidation or Reprisal. - The State, through its
appropriate agencies, shall ensure the safety of all persons involved in the search,
investigation and prosecution of enforced or involuntary disappearance, including the
victims, their families, complainants, witnesses, legal counsel and representatives of
human rights organizations and media. They shall likewise be protected from any act of
intimidation or reprisal as a result of the filing of charges. Any person committing such
ill-treatment and/or acts of intimidation or reprisal shall be punished under existing
“Laws.

SEC. 24, Restitution and Compensation to Victims of Enforced 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 person, personal circumstances,
status, and/or organizational 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.

SEC. 25. Rehabilitation of Victims and Offenders. ~ 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 CHRP, shall provide them with appropriate medical
care and rehabilitation free of charge.


Toward the attainment of restorative justice, a parallel rehabilitation program
for persons who have committed enforced or involuntary disappearance shall likewise
be implemented without cost to such offenders.

SEC. 26. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days from the
effectivity of the Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the CHRP, the Families of Victims
of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) and the Families of Desaparecidos for
Justice (FDJ), in consultation with other human rights organizations shall jointly
promulgate the rules and regulation for the effective impOlementation of this Act and
shall ensure the full dissemination of the same to the public.

SEC. 27. Monitoring of Compliance with this Act. ~ An oversight committee is hereby
created to periodically oversee the implementation of this Act. The committee shall be
headed by a commissioner of the CHRP 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 and the respective chairpersons or
secretaries-general of FIND and FDJ.

SEC. 28. Suppletory Application. — The provisions of the Revised Penal Code shall be
suppletory to this Act.

SEC. 29. Separability Clause. — If, for any reasons, any section or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the 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. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at

least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,