The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) on Friday said it is asking the Commission on Human Rights to step in on the continued disappearance of Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance founding member James Balao.

In an interview, CHRA associate Imelda Tabiando said the group approached CHR Chairwoman Leila de Lima for help in urging Congress to investigate the Balao case as well as all human rights abuses in Northern Luzon. "We are exhausting all avenues to find [James]," Tabiando told ABS-CBN News Baguio.

Tabiando said Balao's disappearance since September 17, 2008 has been a source of emotional pain for CHRA members. "This is torture for us. It's better for those who lost a loved one, at least they have a wake," she said.

Beverly Longid of the Cordillera People's Alliance said activists should remain steadfast in their search for Balao "or else there will be a culture of impunity."

Last month, Balao’s family and supporters filed a Motion for Execution before the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court’s Branch 63 after receiving a Writ of Amparo for James.

Balao is a founding member of the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance in 1984 and presently a member of CPA’s education and research commission staff. He is also the president of the Oclupan Clan Association.

Balao served as the editor-in-chief of Outcrop, the official student publication of the University of the Philippines Baguio, in 1981.