In publicly confirming he had agreed to a writ of amparo, Judge Benigno Galacgac of Regional Trial Court 53 in La Trinidad, ruled the police had “miserably failed in conducting an efficient investigation, because it was limited, superficial and one-sided.”

In response, Cordillera Police Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin claimed the CPA was being ‘uncooperative’ in the investigation.

The writ, issued and published in January, orders the authorities to “release him from detention.” However, very little, if anything seems to have happened as a result of the writ being granted. The judge denied the family’s request to go inside military camps to search for Balao.

Balao’s family and friends claim the fact he had previously been arrested for his political activities is evidence of state complicity in his disappearance. In 1988 he was charged with possession of “subversive” documents –but the case was subsequently dismissed because of lack of evidence.

At the time of his disappearance, Balao was deep into research about his clan’s genealogy. He belongs to the Kankanaey-Ibaloi tribes and is the president of their clan, the Oclupan Clan Association.

He double-majored in Psychology and Economics at the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) and was editor of the school paper, Outcrop. In 1986, he was part of the staff of the Constitutional Convention assisting anthropologist Ponciano Bennagen in securing provisions for the rights of indigenous peoples in the 1987 Constitution. He also helped set up the Ifugao Peasant Leaders’ Forum.

“James was always an honor student in elementary school,” his father Art told a meeting in Baguio a few months after he disappeared, organized by the group “Surface James Balao” which has been tirelessly campaigning to locate his whereabouts. “He topped the National College Entrance Exam and maintained his scholarship at UPB until he finished his course.”

“With his vast knowledge, we hope and pray that he will not be harmed and be set free the soonest so he can continue to uplift the lives of Cordillerans. He is the eldest of my four children and is single, devoting his life in research to save the culture and traditions of the Igorots.”

Editha Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas, visited Baguio to meet with Balao’s family in the weeks after the latter went missing – and as with her own tireless campaign, the campaign to “surface” Balao has garnered both national and international support.

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