Court scores gov’t failure to probe, surface missing activist Felix Salaveria Jr.

MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) has granted protective writs of amparo and habeas data to the disappearance of Felix Salaveria, Jr., a 66-year-old cyclist and indigenous rights activist in Tabaco, Albay, due to the government’s failure to investigate the case. 

The Court found that the Philippine National Police (PNP) failed to properly investigate the case and did not exercise the required extraordinary diligence, making them responsible and accountable for Salaveria’s continuing disappearance. Omission is a form of human rights violation classified for the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute cases, in accordance with their mandate as duty-bearers.

For the family and the legal counsel, this is a step forward and a light of hope for their persistent search.

“Any win for our side is a light of hope in a seemingly endless dark tunnel. We hope and pray everyday that we will be reunited with our father!” said Felicia and Gab Ferrer, daughters of Salaveria, in a statement.

In particular, PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas D. Torre III, former director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and Bicol-based police officials are held responsible and accountable in the enforced disappearance of Salaveria in the court decision.

The decision is a major step forward, said Ben Galil Te, co-counsel for Salaveria’s daughters. “Hopefully, if the respondents comply fully, this could lead to the surfacing of Felix.”

As part of the protective writs of amparo and habeas data, the Court ordered:

1. The respondents to preserve and make all relevant documents to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other investigating agencies;
2. The respondents and the National Police Commission to ensure a serious, effective, and thorough investigation into Salaveria’s disappearance;
3. For CHR to conduct a parallel investigation.

“The Writ of Amparo shields life and liberty from the shadows of abuse, while the Writ of Habeas Data defends dignity through the protection of truth and privacy — together, they form the people’s armor against tyranny,” CA said in its ruling.

Next month marks the first year of Salaveria’s disappearance. He was abducted in broad daylight on August 28, 2024 by men in plainclothes and forced into a silver van. A footage from a barangay-owned CCTV showed the act of abduction, gathered in a fact-finding mission last year.

Read: Cyclists, advocates, family call in unison: Surface Felix Salaveria

Salaveria is a known cyclist and a dedicated activist. He is the founding member of the Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (Katribu Youth) and Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa mga Katutubo (TABAK), both groups known for advocating the rights of indigenous peoples (IP). He is also a founding and active member of Cycling Advocates (Cycad), a group advocating for low-cost, healthy, and non-polluting alternative mode of transportation.

Aside from cycling, Salaveria was also a known advocate of eco-waste management, according to his family and Katribu Youth. Since he moved to Tabaco, he has been encouraging proper waste management and coordinating the transport of biodegradable waste for conversion to compost. He also donated a bicycle especially modified to collect waste for composting to their community.

Human rights group Karapatan also recounted that it was Salaveria that first reported the disappearance of James Jazmines, his fellow cycling enthusiast, on August 26, 2024. Two days after reporting the incident to the Karapatan, he was forcibly disappeared.

The Supreme Court has ordered the CA to conduct a summary hearing on the petition for the writ of amparo and habeas data in favor of Jazmines and his wife Ma. Elna Corazon Jazmines.

“We noted the foot-dragging of police officials approached by the mission members and families since the abductions and disappearances of Jazmines and Salaveria. This has always been characteristic of the PNP’s approach whenever enforced disappearances or other human rights violations were reported to their offices,” said Karapatan in a statement.

The group also underscored, once again, that despite the enactment of the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law in 2012, the crime persists because of the repeated failure of redress mechanisms. The families of the victims, national and international human rights groups, and even United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan, recommended to the Philippines government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance to strengthen the mechanism. This is the only major human rights treaty that the country has not yet ratified.

“We assert that there has always been a method to the madness of enforced disappearances and other human rights violations. These are deliberate, cruel, and unjust methods that are maintained by an infrastructure of impunity that is prevalent up to the Marcos Jr. regime,” Karapatan added. (AMU, RVO)

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