The national assembly unanimously decided to have former Congressman Edcel Lagman as FIND's Honorary Co-Chairperson for life.
FIND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS
November 23-28, 1998 - We, the seventy-one delegates to the 5th National Assembly of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), are gathered together on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of the founding of our organization. Coming from the different areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, we collectively discuss and decide on matters crucial to the future of FIND in her continued journey towards justice, peace and freedom. We look back to the last 13 years of our existence as an organization. We have learned to appreciate the fruits of the collective efforts of our members. Inspired by the principles and examples of our beloved desaparecidos, we hurdled all internal and external obstacles to the attainment of our dreams. Since our 4th General Assembly in 1995, we can see the modest, yet significant developments of our organization vis-a-vis efforts towards consolidation and expansion. But we know that this uphill struggle for justice is far from over. The members and only the members alone can chart the destiny of our organization. Coming from the different areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, we attempt to read the signs of the times in order to be more relevant to the ever-increasing demands of our work. We shared the local socio-economic and political situations of our areas which are but a mirror of the over-all bleak picture of the Philippine society. We, as families of the disappeared who are economically dislocated, among other worse effects of disappearances, feel the pangs of poverty as the present administration continues to boast of its pro-poor character. This fact, we believe, is a blatant violation of our economic and social rights enshrined in our United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The human rights situation of our country is quite deceiving. While it is true that violations of civil and political rights have declined in number during the past administrations, all is not well in the human rights front. Impunity remains the order of the day. Past cases have not been resolved. Justice has not been meted out. Victims and their families remain unindemnified. On the issue of involuntary disappearance, our deafening cry for justice remains unheeded by the past administrations which did nothing substantial to ferret out the truth in solving cases of the past and in preventing future ones to happen. Not one case has been solved. No perpetrator has been punished. No family has ever been compensated. Justice is elusive, indeed. In reading the signs of the times, we have realized that our situation is not divorced from that of other countries in other regions. Reflecting our collective sharing on other countries' situations, we have all the more realized that we are not alone in our struggle. Other peoples of other countries have equally feel the pain that we are undergoing. Many have also lost their loved ones. In some situations, they were successful in finding their beloved desaparecidos. But in many other countries, the families still continue their search. There have been significant successes made by other organizations of families of the disappeared in other countries. To this, we give them our warm commendation. The commonality of our struggle urges us to link arms with them. For it is in the strength of our solidarity that we shall overcome. We have studied comprehensively the mandate of our organization. In reviewing our orientation, we have affirmed, once again, our viability and vowed to be of more relevance to the ever-changing signs of the times. We have realized that in the universality, indivisibility and inter-dependence of human rights, we know that we, as victims of civil and political rights violation, are no less victims of economic and social rights. New victims of disappearances caused by their their opposition to development aggression, have to be given our equal attention. Millions of other victims of economic and social rights, which include many of us, have to realize that while still nursing the wounds brought about by the disappearance of our loved ones, there are fresh wounds brought about by the economic and social rights violations which are equally deep. During the deliberation of our Constitution and By-laws, we have realized the intensity and extensiveness of the organizational consolidation we have attained. From an organization of eight members, we have grown to an organization of eight chapters with 615 members nationwide. From the past general assemblies, we have come today with a higher level of consolidation. Thus, corresponding amendments incorporated to our newly ratified Constitution and By-Laws, the provisions of which are apt to our present organizational development, will bind us together in the next three years. Indeed, we have been tempered after all those years of trials and triumphs. This is reflective from the FIND National Council's Report from 1995-1998. Organizationally, we have grown. On the matter of helping each other heal our wounds, we have achieved an initial level of rehabilitation from our day-to-day immersion in our search for justice. Our Public Information Work has successfully has successfully brought the issue of involuntary disappearance to the general public, the government and the local and international human rights community. The two resolutions for the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Amnesty International's 14-Point Program for the Prevention of Disappearances were approved by the 10th Congress on February 13, 1997. These resolutions and the bill entitled, An Act Criminalizing Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and Other Purposes were recently refiled in the 11th Congress by some sympathetic congress people. These serve as a strong foundation in our campaign for justice. We have documented 1,652 cases. In the search of our disappeared loved ones, we have found a number of remains of missing persons. We have also found just very few of the disappeared who resurfaced alive. As a matter of fact, there are sprouting seeds towards the organizing of surfaced desaparecidos, who, themselves, are living witnesses to the phenomenon of involuntary disappearance. Knowing that disappearances are happening in greater number and intensity in many other parts of the world, we have successfully coordinated the formation of the core of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and facilitated its linkage with the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (FEDEFAM). Knowing that ours is a long-drawn struggle, we have organized the Samahan ng mga Anak ng Desaparecidos or the Association of the Children of the Disappeared. Thus, we are assured that a new generation will surely trace the footsteps of many among us who are growing old and are getting tired, physically. While we count on our blessings, we should be humble enough to also admit that after more than a decade, we have failed to facilitate the solution of at least, one case where the truth is known, the perpetrator is convicted and punished and the family is compensated. After-all, we are facing a formidable enemy which has all the absolute powers and resources as its disposal. Much still remains undone considering the many facets of our difficult work for the disappeared. We, ourselves, have our own organizational weaknesses and shortcoming. We pause and ponder and reflect on our internal strengths and weaknesses and firmly resolve to concretely come up with approriate interventions in order to pursue further our small victories to greater heights. BELIEVING that the most basic requirement to the success of our work is systematizing and completing our documentation and that this will ensure the correctness of the rest of our efforts; KNOWING fully well that one measure of success of any organization is its ability to wield unity and muster organizational bearing in times of crises and that it is of paramount importance for us to build a strong leadership and be aware that our ability to train new leaders that flow from the stream of our mass membership is an indicator or our capacity to discover and utilize to the full the main source of the wealth of our organization - the membership's potentials to chart its organization's destiny; REFLECTING that while our commitment is firmed up by the experience of having our loved ones disappeared and the belief that the issue of involuntary disappearance is an issue of the whole society and of the world and that we must admit that we still need to further study on matters that concern our organization and also of the greater society and in doing this, we can further our conviction to our cause; CONVINCED of the fact that the success of our work depends on the internal strength of our organization through the formation of basic committees and higher levels of formation and through expansion of FIND to families not yet reached; STILL DEEPLY WOUNDED by the disappearance of our loved ones and aware of the fact that our elderly members are still working and awaiting for the elusive justice and that in their ripe age, they need special attention, EVER HOPEFUL of the day when we can find our loved ones so that if alive, they could be rehabilitated and be united with us and if dead, they could be buried decently; AWARE of the fact that continuous groundworking for our never-ending campaign for justice needs a strong foundation through congressional legislations and bills; CONSCIOUS of the imperative for justice; KNOWING that in the new Estrada administration, the return of Marcos cronies in important government positions is a reality and that there is now a clamour from this sector to bury with full military honors, the remains of the late Former General Fabian Ver, who is a notorious perpetrator of human rights violations and that this act is a slap to our dignity especially that we are still undergoing deep pain; AFFECTED by violations of both civil and political rights as well as economic and social rights, and aware of the trend towards extensive land conversion program of the government and destructive mining activities; ANGERED by the reality of impunity in a government which claims itself to be democratic; RECOGNIZING that involuntary disappearance is a global phenomenon which necessitates a global response; KNOWING that the work for justice is still far from over and that our members are already getting old and physically tired to continue their struggle, HAVING LEARNED the difficult lessons of relying so much on the funds from the government and other external financial support; VIGILANT of the fact that in our work of justice, we may be confronted with internal and external threats; CONCERNED of the need for all our members to embrace our assembly decisions and resolutions, WE HEREBY RESOLVE: 1. To update the documentation of our existing cases and document the still undocumented cases nationwide and ensure the safety of our existing documents vis-a-vis risks of possible confiscation by authorities. Furthermore, we resolve to review the cases in some of our chapters which may fall under other forms of human rights violations so that necessary action could be done on this; 2. To strengthen our present leadership and consciously train new leaders who will facilitate the sustained work of the organization in the immediate and long-term future. Furthermore, we resolve to define more concretely the tasks and functions of the national secretariat in order to facilitate the membership's active participation in the work of the organization; 3. To finalize and implement in all levels our Education Curriculum and continue to learn from our organizational experience and from the burning issues of the day and analyze these in order to ensure the correctness of our organizational response; 4. To consolidate the existing structures and create new ones that concretely respond to the increasing demands of our organization. We further resolve to reach out to more families of the victims from different parts of the country who could surely help strengthen the impact of our work; 5. To hold a comprehensive and systematic welfare and rehabilitation program that respond to the needs, especially of our elderly members; 7. To turn every stone unturned to look for leads regarding the whereabouts of our loved ones and do all forms of search work; 8. To be true to our much-avowed intention to search for justice through the filing of cases in court and to protect the lives of our witnesses so that we can make a dent in our work and be of contribution to the eventual solution to the problem of impunity so that never will involuntary disappearances happen again; 9. To vehemently oppose all moves to insult our dignity as a people through giving full military honors to Fabian Ver whose notorious human rights record has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. Furthermore, we resolve to pursue cases against the Marcoses and their cronies and to oppose the series of moves to dismiss cases on the Marcos ill-gotten wealth as these manifest the weakening of the political will to prosecute those involved just because of their close associateship with the present Estrada administration; 10. To oppose this extensive land conversion program of the government and mining activities that are anathema to a participatory and sustainable development which is not only a threat to food security, but a cause of displacements of families and communities and other violations of human rights; 11. To demand for the investigation of all cases of involuntary disappearances committed during the past three regimes; for the punishment of proven perpetrators and for the indemnification of the concerned families. Concretely, we demand for the creation of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission which are composed of bodies which have reputable human rights records; 12. To vigorously work for FIND's active coordinatorship in the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and help in implanting the seeds towards the establishment of an international movement against involuntary disappearances; 13. To seriously implement a distinct program for the organizing of the Samahan ng mga Anak ng Desaparecidos or Association of the Children of the Disappeared who will guarantee the sustainability of this long-drawn fight against impunity; 14. To conduct all forms of self-reliance scheme that could give us the confidence to stand on our own feet and to ensure the sustainability of our efforts; 15. To reaffirm the resolutions of the FIND Special General Assembly held in October 1994 on the three grounds of membership expultion. Furthermore, we resolve to uphold and defend the mandate of our organization vis-a-vis threats by any political bloc or other external forces; 16. To exert all efforts for the internal campaign on the unification of all members on all Acts of the National Assembly. As we commemorate this year the 100 years of anniversary of the centennial of the Philippine Revolution and the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we once again, renew our commitment to strengthen ourselves in our search for our dear desaparecidos and to work for justice at all costs. We reiterate our wholehearted commitment to the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights. Done this 28th day of November 1998 in the Year of our Lord. SIGNED BY ALL THE DELEGATES TO THE FIND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Oblates of Mary Immaculate Retreat House, Mapayapa Village, Quezon City Philippines
