The commission of the global phenomenon of enforced or involuntary disappearance remains unabated in the Philippines. Since involuntary disappearance is not yet considered a crime under Philippine laws, the 15 cases filed in court by some families with the assistance of FIND are lodged as kidnapping, murder or serious illegal detention or a combination of the last two offenses. The case of the PICOP Six in Trento, Agusan del Sur was favorably resolved on July 18, 2008 after eight long years. FIND has also supported the filing of petitions for writ of habeas corpus as well as petitions for writ of amparo by families of recent victims. The anti-disappearance bills pending before the Philippine Congress seek to define and penalize the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance.
The search and documentation work of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) has yielded the following statistics.
| REGIME | No. of reported cases | No. of documented cases | No. of still missing | No. of surfaced alive | No. of found dead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand E. Marcos | 878 | 878 | 613 | 138 | 127 |
| Corazon C. Aquino | 823 | 614 | 407 | 109 | 98 |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 94 | 94 | 46 | 38 | 10 |
| Joseph Estrada | 58 | 58 | 16 | 39 | 3 |
| Gloria M. Arroyo | 318 | 181 | 57 | 107 | 17 |
| Benigno C. Aquino III | 10 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| T O T A L | 2,181* | 1,833 | 1,142 | 435 | 256 |
As of October 31, 2011 there were 1,8331 cases of disappearance documented by FIND nationwide. Of these, 1,142 are still missing, 435 surfaced alive and 256 were found dead.
The Marcos regime registered the highest number of disappearance cases with 878, followed by Aquino with 614, Ramos with 94, Estrada with 58 and Arroyo with 181 and B. Aquino III with 8.
| VICTIM | NUMBER | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 1,664 | 91% |
| Female | 173 | 9% |
| SECTOR | NUMBER / ID | RANK |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | 62 | 5th |
| Fisher folk | 27 | 6th |
| Worker | 264 | 2nd |
| Farmer | 846 | 1st |
| Youth | 151 | 3rd |
| Women | 64 | 4th |
| Student | 31 | 7th |
| Children | 20 | 8th |
| Urban Poor | 23 | 9th |
| With incomplete records | 345 | --- |
The top two sectoral groups that have the highest number of victims of disappearance are the farmers group with 846 followed by the workers group with 264.
| R E G I O N | No. of Victims |
|---|---|
| National Capital Region (NCR) | 177 |
| Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) | 26 |
| Ilocos Region (ILO) | 18 |
| Central Luzon Region (CL) | 177 |
| Southern Tagalog Region (STQ) | 77 |
| Bicol Region (BCL) | 89 |
| Western Visayas Region (WVR) | 327 |
| Central Visayas Region (CVR) | 85 |
| Eastern Visayas Region (EVR) | 118 |
| Western Mindanao Region (WMR) | 198 |
| Northern Central Mindanao Region (NCM) | 89 |
| Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) | 192 |
| Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) | 31 |
| Central Mindanao Region (CMR) | 47 |
| Northern Mindanao Region (CARAGA/NMR) | 143 |
| Northern Luzon Region (NL) | 39 |
| T O T A L | 1,833 |
| REGION | NO. OF EXHUMED VICTIMS |
|---|---|
| Bicol | 5 |
| Northern Luzon Region | 1 |
| Western Visayas Region | 14 |
| Northern Mindanao Region | 6 |
| Southern Mindanao Region | 22 |
| Western Mindanao Region | 33 |
| T O T A L | 81 |
| REGIME | NO. OF EXHUMED VICTIMS |
|---|---|
| MARCOS | 47 |
| AQUINO | 26 |
| RAMOS | 0 |
| ESTRADA | 0 |
| ARROYO | 8 |
| B. AQUINO III | 0 |
| T O T A L | 81 |
Of the total 81 exhumed remains, 47 disappeared during the Marcos regime, 26 during the Aquino regime, and 8 during the Arroyo regime.
Forensic findings reveal that of the 81 exhumed victims, 95% suffered/died from gunshot wounds.
Of the total 1,833 documented cases of disappearance in the Philippines, 1,142 are still missing, 435 have surfaced alive and 256 were found dead.
Majority of the victims of disappearance fall on the age bracket 16-25 years old with 498 followed by age bracket 26-35 years old with 423.
Note: The oldest victim documented is 73 years old, while the youngest is a 2-months old baby who was abducted along with his mother. The mother and child reappeared after almost a year of secret detention.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (Army, Navy/Marines and the Air Force) registered the highest number of involvement in disappearance cases with 1079 followed by the defunct PC/INP with 239 and the Marcos paramilitary group ICHDF with 155.
(NOTE: The PC-INP later on was renamed Philippine National Police or PNP in 1992. For documentation purposes, the cases involving the PC-INP are separately listed from the cases involving the PNP).
The above acronyms refer to:
The years 1983 to 1985 recorded the highest number of incidents of disappearance cases followed by years 1987 to 1989. 1983-1985 was the peak of the campaign against the Marcos dictatorship. 1987-1989 was the period of “total war policy” of the Aquino regime against insurgents. There was a noticeable decline in the number of victims during the administration of President Ramos. The trend was maintained at the earlier part of President Estrada’s short tenure until he declared an all-out war against terrorists, raising the number of victims to 58 in year 2000. Under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, there were a total of 308 victims as a result of her all-out-war against communist insurgents and terrorists. With the present dispensation of President Benigno S. Aquino III, FIND has recorded 10 cases, three of whom are still missing four others have surfaced alive and one found dead.
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1 Of the 2,181 reported victims, only 1,833 have been documented due to various reasons. Reports usually come from FIND members, contacts, network and media.
We support the immediate enactment of the proposed Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2011 and the signing and ratification by the Philippine Government of the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED).
