Ferdinand Marcos took power in the Philippines in 1965 and, in the early 1970s, ordered state security forces to kidnap and forcibly disappear members of opposition political groups, labor unions and religious organizations, along with many others viewed as a “threat” to his dictatorial regime. Over time, subsequent governments in the country – including democratically elected ones – continued to use disappearance as a strategy to eliminate active opponents and discourage popular protests.
In 1986, EAAF was part of the international forensic delegation organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to collaborate with the truth commission formed by the Corazón Aquino administration. However, the commission’s work was hampered when political conditions changed and internal violence escalated.
The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), a local human rights NGO, documented 1,661 cases of disappearances, of which approximately 1,000 occurred during the Aquino administration (1986-92) and 600 during the Marcos dictatorship (1965-86).
In May 2000, members of EAAF traveled to the Philippines to provide technical assistance on investigations and forensic consulting to local investigative teams. In addition, in 2024, EAAF hosted a delegation of Philippine officials in Buenos Aires and conducted a workshop for them on forensic investigation.
