MANILA — The Philippines has enacted a law aimed at stopping the military and police officers from abducting people suspected of antigovernment activity, one of the ugly legacies of the country’s years of dictatorship.
The law, which President Benigno S. Aquino III signed late Friday, makes the “arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the state” punishable by life in prison. It also holds superior officers liable for abductions committed by those under their command. Congress passed the legislation in October.
Human Rights Watch hailed the law, which it called “the first of its kind in Asia and a major milestone in ending this horrific human rights violation.” It was the first major human rights legislation signed by Mr. Aquino, who campaigned on promises of a better human rights climate but whose record since his election in 2010 has been seen as mixed by many rights groups.
The kidnapping of political opponents by security forces in the Philippines is a legacy of martial law, which was imposed during the 1970s by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. During that period, the military, police officers and their agents abducted, tortured and sometimes murdered political opponents with impunity.
Such “disappearances” have continued to the present day, though on a smaller scale, despite the restoration of democracy in 1986, according to rights advocates. A Manila-based organization, Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, says more than 2,200 people have disappeared since 1985 at the hands of security forces or others linked to the government.
“It is a way for the authorities to short-circuit our laws and Constitution,” said Carlos Isagani Zarate, a vice president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which represents people who say they have been abducted by the military. “If they suspect someone is part of an underground organization but they don’t think the case will prosper in court, they abduct them.”
“In a lot of the cases, the victims are innocent civilians who are suspected of having links to underground groups,” Mr. Zarate said.
Under President Aquino — the son of an opposition politician who was assassinated during Mr. Marcos’s rule, and of the late President Corazon Aquino, who led the popular uprising that drove Mr. Marcos from power — there have been 17 documented cases of forced disappearance, according to Mary Aileen D. Bacalso, secretary general of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. That, however, is a steep decline from the more than 300 cases alleged during the administration of his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
“The number of cases has decreased, but we cannot tolerate even one forced disappearance,” Ms. Bacalso said. “The cases continue despite the pronouncements of the administration in support of human rights.”
One notorious disappearance case that dates from the previous administration, but which Mr. Aquino’s Justice Department has yet to resolve, is that of Jovito Palparan, a retired major general.
General Palparan, who was given the nickname “The Butcher” during his more than two decades of military service, was indicted in December 2011 in connection with the abduction in 2006 of two young women who were university students and activists for leftist organizations. According to a statement filed in court by the prosecution, the women were kept chained in a barracks and were periodically tortured and sexually assaulted by soldiers under General Palparan’s command.
“The girls narrated the circumstances of their abduction to our witness,” said Edre Olalia, an attorney for the victims’ families. “He saw them being tortured in a restroom. It was a horrible account of physical and sexual abuse.”
Despite a nationwide manhunt, and the offering of a large reward for his capture, Mr. Palparan remains at large and has received testimonials of support from prominent politicians and members of the military.
“It is immensely difficult to prosecute these kinds of cases,” said Mr. Olalia. “I don’t think this new law alone will make prosecution any easier. There must be a strong demonstration to the security forces that they can no longer get away with this. So far, the administration has not done that.”
Philippines Enacts Strong Penalties for Abductions
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Philippines Enacts Strong Penalties for Abductions
