QUEZON CITY — On All Souls’ Day, families and friends of victims of abduction and enforced disappearance, together with human rights defenders, will gather at the Sto. Domingo Church to remember their missing loved ones and renew their call: “Surface All Desaparecidos!”
While millions of Filipinos visit cemeteries to honor departed relatives, the families of the disappeared continue to search—without graves to visit, without answers, and without justice. After a 10:30 AM Mass, a short program will be held at the church grounds, where participants will offer flowers and pin white ribbons on photos of their missing loved ones. Wearing white bandanas inscribed with “Surface All Desaparecidos,” they will stand together to affirm their commitment to truth and justice.
Every year, Desaparecidos, an organization of families and friends of victims of enforced disappearances, marks All Souls’ Day by publicly remembering those abducted by suspected state forces and never seen again. This year’s commemoration carries even greater urgency, as cases of enforced disappearance continue under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
According to Desaparecidos, there have been 14 victims of enforced disappearance under the Marcos Jr. government, joining the long list of at least 1,900 victims since the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. From martial law to the present, all remain missing.
“While others visit their loved ones’ graves, we visit memories and photographs,” said JL Burgos, Chairperson of Desaparecidos. “Remembrance is an act of resistance. Our call is simple: surface all desaparecidos, hold the perpetrators accountable, and end enforced disappearances once and for all.”
For families, the pain of not knowing never fades. Many have spent decades seeking answers, filing cases that rarely move forward, and hoping—sometimes against hope—that their loved ones might still be alive.
“The hardest part is the uncertainty,” Burgos said. “You wake up every day wondering where your loved one is — if they’re hungry, hurt, or, worse, dead. And the government, which is supposed to protect its citizens, continues to cover up what happened to our disappeared..”
Despite decades of advocacy, impunity persists. The Philippines remains a signatory but has not ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 (RA 10353) has yet to bring justice or surface victims.
“The government’s silence is complicity,” Burgos added. “Every administration promises to uphold human rights, yet the disappearances continue. Families deserve answers; victims deserve justice..”
This year’s gathering is both memorial and protest. By lighting candles, wearing white, and saying the names of the disappeared aloud, families reaffirm that they will never forget—and never stop searching.
“All Souls’ Day is about remembering those who have passed,” Burgos said. “For us, it is also for those who were stolen from us and never returned. We will not stop until every desaparecido is surfaced and every perpetrator is brought to justice.”