Families of disappeared protest at Plaza Miranda
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 21:18:00 08/30/2008
MANILA, Philippines — Families of victims of alleged “enforced disappearances” held a protest at the historic Plaza Miranda outside the Quiapo Church on Saturday calling for justice for their loved ones.
The rally is in line with the celebration of the International Day of the Disappeared which was declared in Costa Rica on August 30, 1981, Desaparecidos said.
Various artists performed songs and read poems during the program which was attended by some 100 members of various militant groups like AnakBayan, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, National Federation of Peasant Women Philippines, and AnakPawis.
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teddy Casino also issued his support for the cause of Desaparecidos.
“Ang bawat iyak, hinagpis at ngitngit ng pamilya ng mga nawawala ay galit, hinagpis at ngitngit ng sambayanang Pilipino dahil sa isang sibilisadong lipunan, hindi puwedeng payagan ang isang karumaldumal na krimen gaya ng sapilitang pagkawala (Every cry, sob, and anger of the family of the missing is the cry, sob, and anger of the Filipino people, because in a civilized society, this crime is not allowed),” Casino said in his speech during the program.
The protesters demanded for the resurfacing of their loved ones and for the punishment for “state perpetrators of enforced disappearance.”
The group slammed the government’s Oplan Bantay Laya projects which they blame for the disappearance of their relatives.
“Even as we remember and give tribute to our missing loved ones, we also demand that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s regime be punished for its implementation of enforced disappearance,” said Mary Guy Portajada, spokesperson of Desaparesidos.
Almost 2,000 disappeared have been recorded beginning the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos until the present regime, Desaparesidos said.
Since the beginning of President Gloria Arroyos’s term in 2001, some 193 victims have been reported missing or were victims of extrajudicial killings, the group added.
“Enforced disappearance is the worst kind of repression. It must be stopped, and heads of State which implement this must be punished,” Portajada said.
The group added that disappearance “violates the right to life, liberty and dignity, and the right to trial and due process, the right against torture and illegal detention, the rights of persons in detention, and even the right against the desecration of one’s body.”
The relatives of the desaparecidos said they no longer expect to receive justice from the courts since the Court of Appeals and lower courts have continuously denied their petitions for writs of habeas corpus and amparo.
Nevertheless, the group appealed for the ratification of the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance and the passing of a pending bill which criminalizes enforced disappearance.
“The proposed bill has been gathering dust in Congress and in spite of the continued cases of disappearance, no one has been punished,” Portajada said.
House Bill 2236 or the “Anti-enforced disappearance Act” is a popular bill and has been signed by 132 congressmen but objections were raised by the Technical Working Group tasked to polish the bill, Casino said.
The party-list congressman said the representatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police are opposed to the bill.
“Ang mismong mga tao, mga opisyal na may tungkulin na pigilan ang sapilitang pagkawala ang siya mismong mga gumagawa ng krimen. Mismong mga pulis at mga militar ang siya mismong dumudukot sa mga aktibista, organisador at mga pinaghihinalaang kalaban ng pamahalaan (The same people who are responsible for stopping the crime are the same people who are committing it. The police and the military are themselves abducting activists, organizers, and anti-government oppositionists,” Casino said.
Progressive party-list members in the Congress will lobby for the passing of the HB 2236 by the end of this year, he said.
Meanwhile, after the program in Plaza Miranda the protesters marched to Mendiola Bridge bearing lit lanterns which symbolized the lighting of the way for justice for the victims of enforced disappearances during the Arroyo administration.
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