Senior Philippine officials led by Undersecretary Severo Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee formally moved for the delisting of 625 cases during a meeting with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. DisappearancesThe working group, headed by Chair-Rapporteur Bernard Duhaime, a Canadian, welcomed the Philippine delegation and the efforts of the Philippine government to engage and prepare detailed documentation, the mission reported. The mission said that during the meeting, the Philippine delegation sought to clarify and delist 625 cases of enforced and involuntary disappearances that took place from 1975 to 2012. 105 cases taken upCatura told the working group that the domestic mechanisms involved close cooperation between the government and the victims and their families, NGOs and civil society organizations. The DOJ, on the other hand, informed the working group that 105 of the 625 cases had already been taken up and related claims for reparation granted under the RA 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Recognition and Reparation Act of 2013.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 15, 2019 23:26 UTC