Law Summary
Key Definitions
- Agents of the State: Government officials performing public duties.
- Enforced or involuntary disappearance: State or state-supported deprivation of liberty followed by refusal to acknowledge or concealment of the individual's fate or whereabouts.
- Order of Battle: Document listing perceived enemies of the state, not a lawful basis for disappearance.
- Victim: The disappeared person and those harmed as a direct result.
Non-derogable Rights
- Right against enforced disappearance cannot be suspended under any circumstances including war or emergencies.
Illegality of "Order of Battle"
- Such orders are unlawful and not valid grounds or excuses.
- Individuals have the right to disobey such orders.
Rights of Detainees
- Deprived persons have an absolute right to prompt communication to inform family, lawyers, or human rights groups.
Duties to Report and Certify
- Anyone aware of enforced disappearance must immediately report to authorities or human rights bodies.
- Officials must promptly issue written certification on inquiries regarding a victim’s whereabouts.
- Prosecutors and judiciary must disclose victim's whereabouts to concerned parties immediately.
Detention Records and Facilities
- All detained persons must be in recognized facilities with an official, up-to-date register.
- Register contents include personal details, reasons for detention, conditions, visits, and deaths.
- Register accessible to relatives, lawyers, judges, and human rights groups.
- Government agencies shall submit updated lists of detention facilities and detainees to the CHR.
Writs of Habeas Corpus, Amparo, Habeas Data
- Proceedings for these writs shall be expedited.
- Courts and agencies must prioritize and immediately comply with related orders.
Inspection of Detention Centers
- CHR authorized to conduct regular, independent, unannounced inspections of detention facilities.
Command Responsibility
- Immediate commanders and senior officials liable as principals if they knew or should have known about disappearances and failed to act.
Penal Provisions
- Reclusion perpetua for direct perpetrators, instigators, cooperators, and officials who allow or abet disappearance.
- Reclusion temporal for attempted cases and accessories profiting or concealing crimes.
- Lesser penalties for defying compliance with writs and breaching reporting duties.
Administrative Sanctions
- Government personnel involved may face preventive suspension or summary dismissal after preliminary investigations.
Civil and Criminal Liability
- Perpetrators and State agencies liable under civil law.
- Criminal liability independent of other related offenses such as torture or unlawful detention.
International Law and Amnesty
- Domestic prosecution does not preclude international legal processes.
- Special amnesty laws do not apply to enforced disappearance offenders.
Offense Nature and Time Limits
- Enforced disappearance is a continuing offense while concealment persists.
- No statute of limitations while the victim remains missing; 25-year limit after reappearance.
State Protection
- Ensures safety of victims, families, witnesses, and legal representatives from intimidation or reprisals.
Non-refoulement
- Prohibits expulsion or extradition where risk of enforced disappearance exists, considering human rights patterns in requesting states.
Restitution and Rehabilitation
- Victims who surface alive entitled to compensation, rehabilitation, and restoration of honor.
- Immediate family within fourth civil degree also eligible for compensation.
- Parallel rehabilitation offered for offenders to support restorative justice.
Implementation and Rules
- DOJ, DSWD, CHR, victim families’ groups, and NGOs to promulgate implementing rules within 30 days.
Funding
- Initial appropriation of 10 million pesos for CHR; future funding included in annual budgets.
Miscellaneous Provisions
- Suppletory application of Revised Penal Code where consistent with this Act.
- Separability, repealing, and effectivity clauses included to ensure legal coherence and enforcement.