A multi-stakeholder forum on The Right to Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Their Affected Families was organized and launched by Balay Rehabilitation Center, Inc. in Marcian Garden Hotel, Zamboanga City last December 14-15, 2015. The purpose of said forum is to serve as an avenue for both the government and the private sector to come together and discuss R.A 9745, better known as the Anti-Torture Act of 2009; and brainstorm on the possible guidelines in creating a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program for Torture Victims and Their Families, and Those Who Committed Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPRTV), which is an integral requirement under R.A. 9745.
Among the participants of the said forum are representatives from government offices such as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), and the Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC). In the same manner, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) actively working in Mindanao were likewise represented. Among these CSOs are BAWGBG, Consortium Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), and BAHRAN.
The two-day forum ended with an activity that allowed the participants – government offices and non-government offices alike – to come together and deliberate on their action plans for the year 2016 in light of the R.A. 9745 and strategize on how to further strengthen the coordination between the government and the non-government sector.