News in pictures | Kin of the disappeared call for the surfacing of their loved ones

MANILA – #IlitawAngMgaDesaparecidos (Surface the disappeared)

This is the hashtag of relatives of missing activists who have disappeared amid the calls of supporters as well as family members of former president Rodrigo Duterte to bring him back to the Philippines. 

Duterte is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. Duterte supporters claimed that the former president was “kidnapped” on March 11 when the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court was implemented, and he was immediately flown to The Hague, the Netherlands. 

Relatives of the disappeared used the same slogan. 

“Bring Kuya back home!” read one of the social media posts of the group Desaparecidos, a group of families of the disappeared. 

“Norman Ortiz was abducted together with Lee Sudario on Sept. 29, 2023 in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija. According to the witnesses, they were abducted by uniformed men and were forcibly taken inside a van. They are both farmers,” the post read in Filipino. 

“He should be the one to return home to his family. Duterte must remain in jail and must be convicted,” it added. 

Similar messages were also posted by the families of missing activists Jonas Burgos, Gene Jamil “Bazoo” De Jesus, peasant organizer Mariano Jolongbayan, Karen Empeño, National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants Leo Velasco and Cesar Batralo, among others. (RVO)

The post News in pictures | Kin of the disappeared call for the surfacing of their loved ones appeared first on Bulatlat.