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"Every mother, every family of the disappeared lives in a prison of uncertainty. Our loved ones are gone but our fight for them is not."
"They told us that there is already a law in place. But we have repeatedly told them: it does not work,” said Edith Burgos, mother of disappeared activist Jonas Burgos and the chairperson of International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED).
“The case at the ICC against former president [Rodrigo] Duterte and his co-conspirators is proof that the justice system in the Philippines has failed in rendering justice for the thousands of victims, a fact acknowledged by the local officials."
For 17 years, Edita Burgos has been searching for her son, who was forcibly disappeared in the Philippines.
Asked why the Aquino government does not want to ratify the law, human rights lawyer Edre Olalia said that probably one of the reasons why the government is hesitant to ratify the convention is that once it does, it would be incumbent upon it to allow visits of special rapporteurs in the country.
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