November 17, 2008
61st Day:  Our Search Continues
On the 61st day of James Balao’s enforced disappearance, we continue to hope that he is alive.  We continue to search for him and we strongly reiterate our demand that he be surfaced.
We mark this day with further resolve, hope and vigilance to search for James even if the search has been torturously difficult, and continue to appeal to all our fellow Igorots to help and assist in to save James' life.  
The search has been doubly hard because in our search for James, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have released statements on their theories in an attempt to divert the accountability of the State on James’ disappearance.  They have questioned James’ identity and have even placed James’ clan and his colleagues in the Cordillera Peoples Alliance as suspects in the enforced disappearance.
We condemn this attempt at a whitewash and find it inexcusable and irresponsible.
Annexed to the Petition for the Writ of Amparo is James’ journal that detailed his being surveilled by state security agents/forces (AFP and PNP).  The notes date from April 29– September 1, 2008.  In this journal, he wrote the details of the vehicles surveilling him, the time and dates when he was followed.  The patterns of surveillance described in his journal are patterned in the operations to neutralize members and leaders of progressive people’s organizations under Operation Plan Bantay Laya.  James noted this and feared not only for his life and security but for his family’s and colleagues’ as well.  The journal proves the State’s hand in James’ abduction and enforced disappearance.
The lies being thrown in now by the AFP and PNP that the clan and his colleagues are responsible for his enforced disappearance are the same accusations they made in the other cases of enforced disappearances and the more than 900 cases of extrajudicial killings.  Their statements have been highly criticized by the United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in his report saying that “The military’s insistence that the “purge theory” is correct can only be viewed as a cynical attempt to displace responsibility.”

In the 61st day of James’ enforced disappearance, we continue to demand accountability from the State on the circumstances of James’ enforced disappearance and his whereabouts.  We continue to demand the right to thoroughly search their camps and even their safehouses.  We demand from the Arroyo government to surface him immediately and bring him back to his family and to us.  We continue to appeal to our fellow Igorots in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippines National Police, isakit tayo ni James, isakit tayo ti kabsat tayo nga Igorot     
We call on all Cordillerans and human rights and peace advocates to help us in relentlessly searching for James.  The search for him and the other victims of enforced disappearances is a search for justice.  Mabtad tako amin!
CORDILLERA HUMAN RIGHTS ALLIANCE
CORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE