Loved ones of disappeared activists grieve, demand justice

By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Families of the disappeared activists gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on All Souls Day to honor their missing loved ones and to call once again for their surfacing. 

JL Burgos, brother of disappeared activist Jonas Burgos and the director of the documentary Alipato at Muog, said that the memory and feeling when his brother was abducted remain fresh.

“We may not have a grave for them but we are grieving. We are grieving because justice has not yet been served. We have been demanding accountability,” Burgos said in Filipino.

It has been 17 years since the abduction of Jonas. Bulatlat has documented the Burgos family’s search for justice.

Read: Timeline | The Search for Jonas Burgos

There are 14 activists who forcibly disappeared under the Marcos Jr administration. Five others were abducted and surfaced namely Jonila Castro, Jhed Tamano, Francisco Dangla, Joxelle Tiong, and Rowena Dasig.

“This kind of human rights violation should be stopped. This is a crime against humanity, it should never happen to anyone, regardless of our principles,” Burgos said.

Human rights group Karapatan said that enforced disappearance remains a grave human rights violation in the Philippines, a reflection of the current administration’s lack of justice and accountability. They listed the individuals who have fallen victim to this heinous practice: 

Name	Place of disappearance	Last seen
Elgene Mungcal	Moncada, Tarlac	July 3, 2022
Ma Elena Pampoza	Moncada, Tarlac	July 3, 2022
Renel de los Santos	Binalbagan, Negros Occidental	April 19, 2023
Denald Laloy Mialen	Binalbagan, Negros Occidental	April 19, 2023
Lyn Grace Martullinas	Binalbagan, Negros Occidental	April 19, 2023
Dexter Capuyan	Taytay, Rizal	April 28, 2023
Gene De Jesus	Taytay, Rizal	April 28, 2023
Deah Lopez	Sipalay, Negros Occidental	September 15, 2023
Lee Sudario	Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija	September 29, 2023
Norman Ortiz	Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija	September 29, 2023
Mariano Jolongbayan	Lian, Batangas	November 17, 2023
William Lariosa	Quezon, Bukidnon	April 10, 2024
James Jazmines	Tabaco, Albay	August 23, 2024
Felix Salaveria, Jr	Tabaco, Albay	August 28, 2024

“Enforced disappearance is a grave form of human rights violation because victims may be extrajudicially killed, tortured, families lost in the limbo, and even the communities,” Burgos said.

Families shared stories of searching and grieving through solidarity messages and poetry reading. Felicia Ferrrer, daughter of disappeared Felix Salaveria Jr., read the heartfelt letter she and her sister Gab wrote. “Our ritual every November 1 and 2 is to light candles for our fallen families and friends. You always tell stories of your father, whom you dearly love,” Ferrer said. “Sometimes, during this time, you would invite me to bike around UP Diliman and stay still under the Acacia trees.”

In search for their father, the sisters found out much more about his advocacies on eco-waste management and how respected he was in the community in Tabaco City.

Read: In search of missing father, daughters get to know why he is loved by a small Bicol village

Rosinne Enyong, a political prisoner from Negros and mother of Lyn Grace Martullinas, shared that they organized a fasting protest in the Negros Occidental District Jail to call for the surfacing of her daughter and all desaparecidos.

“My daughter was also an activist like me and she was also a cultural worker who performed songs in the protests and community activities organized by KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas). Up until now, she remains missing together with two other habal-habal (motorcycle) riders,” Enyong said in a letter recited by Connie Empeño, also a mother of desaparecidos Karen Empeño.

Enyong said that she is a victim of the anti-insurgency program of the Duterte administration, more commonly known as Oplan Sauron, which intensified the militarization in the Negros region. Her daughter, she said, was also a victim of the same program but under the Marcos Jr administration.

Meanwhile, Dodong Lariosa, eldest son of desaparecidos William Lariosa, said that the disappeared activists like his father served the poor and the marginalized.

“It is so disheartening what happened to our loved ones. But I know that in the hearts and minds of the people and communities they served, there is William, Jonas, Bazoo, Dexter, and all desaparecidos who stood with them,” Lariosa said in a Filipino video message.

Karapatan stressed that the enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings, and other grave violations of human rights have been persisting because of the culture of impunity. They said that the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act, which was passed in 2012 failed to deter the crime.

“The inability of families, human rights organizations and investigators to find victims of enforced disappearance in regular detention centers points to the existence of a vast network of secret detention facilities or “safehouses” maintained by the state where victims are subjected to interrogation, physical and psychological torture or even extrajudicial killing,” Karapatan said in a statement.

The Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act was the first in Asia, making enforced disappearance punishable with life imprisonment. It also seeks to provide assistance to the victims and their families. 

However, there has been no conviction despite the documented victims since the Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship. The Philippines has also not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances of the United Nations.

Read: SONA 2023 | Still no justice for victims of enforced disappearances despite anti-disappearance law

Read: SONA 2023 | Still no justice for victims of enforced disappearances despite anti-disappearance law

“We must persevere in raising public awareness against enforced disappearance, provide support to victims’ families and demand that the state put a stop to this abominable crime. We must wage campaigns indefatigably to uncover the truth and hold perpetrators accountable,” Karapatan said in a statement. (DAA, RVO)