Call on Philippine government to guarantee safety of disappearance victims

In the Philippines each year dozens of people are being kidnapped by the army, police or other government officials. Often for political reasons, they disappear without trial into captivity, while the authorities deny involvement and relatives remain in the dark over their faith. In 2006, 87 persons disappeared. August 2007, two of them, the brothers Raymond en Reynaldo Manalo, managed to escape after 18 months of secret detention. They are now hiding from their captors. They have come out with experiences of almost daily torture and meetings with other disappeared persons, some of whom have died in detention.

The Manalo brothers have identified a number of persons involved in their disappearance and torture, including some high ranking army officers. Because of this testimony and because of threats made against them in detention, the brothers are in great danger of being abducted again or simply killed outright. Therefore, they have petitioned for protection from the Philippine Supreme Court. They are making use of a new legal remedy (the rules on Amparo) available to families of disappeared victims since 2007. In addition, they have requested the Supreme Court to examine their testimony.

Raymond en Reynaldo Manalo’s case will serve on November 8. It is of the utmost importance that they will be able to visit the Court safely.
The Philippine partner organisation of Aim for human rights, FIND, is actively involved in the case of the Manalo brothers. At their request, Aim for human rights supports the petition of the Manalo’s at the Supreme Court. In a letter to the Philippine embassy in the Netherlands, we urged:

• the Philippine government to protect the safety and life of the Manalo brothers;
• the Philippine government to not unduly interfere with the Amparo rule;
• the Court to grant the interim relieves allowed by the Amparo rule.

Aim for human rights condemns the continued practice of enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines as a crime against humanity as we call for an end to this cruel practices and to bring perpetrators to justice to stop impunity. Therefore we also urge:

• the Philippine Congress to finally enact the anti-enforced disappearance bill;
• the Philippine government to sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearance.

 

Read Aim for human rights’ Statement of Support to the Manalo brothers