Human rights groups Karapatan and Desaparecidos have called on the Marcos Jr. administration to surface victims of enforced disappearance and hold perpetrators accountable.
In a joint statement released on May 26 to mark the International Week of the Disappeared, the groups expressed solidarity “with the countless victims of enforced disappearance in the Philippines and worldwide.”
“This despicable crime perpetrated by state agents or state-sanctioned entities that involves the abduction and clandestine detention of individuals, is a vicious instrument to suppress dissent,” the statement read.
The groups said that enforced disappearances cause ongoing anguish and uncertainty for families, with impunity and lack of accountability worsening their suffering and trauma.
Karapatan said enforced disappearances continue despite the enactment of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012. The group documented 18 victims since the start of the Marcos Jr. presidency, including activists, organizers, and peasants.
Among those listed are women organizers Elgene Mungcal and Ma. Elena Pampoza, last seen in Tarlac in July 2022; Cordilleran activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, last seen in Rizal in April 2023; and environmental activist Felix Salaveria Jr., last seen in Albay in August 2024.
Other victims include union organizers, youth leaders, farmers, fisherfolk, and drivers from regions such as Negros Occidental, Bukidnon, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, and Batangas.
“We cry out: Surface them all!” the groups declared.
The statement noted that enforced disappearances are often preceded by red-tagging campaigns intended to discredit dissenters, while weak investigations and prosecutions fuel impunity and deny justice to victims and their families.
Karapatan and Desaparecidos also criticized the Philippine government for failing to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
“The Marcos Jr. regime has been found seriously wanting in this regard, with its continued refusal to ratify the International Convention… and more important, its abject failure to implement and enforce the existing law against enforced disappearances,” they said.
The groups renewed their demand “to surface all victims of enforced disappearance and ensure their safe return to their families and hold perpetrators accountable for these heinous crimes.”
The groups expressed support for international efforts to assist victims and families, hold states accountable to human rights obligations, and end enforced disappearances globally.
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