'No end to searching': Kin of 'desaparecidos' renew call to surface loved ones
MANILA, Philippines — Families and friends of victims of enforced disappearances from Marcos’ martial law to the previous Duterte administration on Tuesday renewed their call to surface their loved ones.
Kin of the disappeared reiterated their demand to surface 1,902 desaparecidos at a gathering in Bantayog ng mga Bayani in commemmoration of the International Day of the Disappeared.
“Parating walang katapusang pagluluksa, walang katapusang paghahanap, walang katapusang katanungan hangga’t hindi natatagpuan ang mga mahal namin sa buhay,” said JL Burgos, brother of Jonas Burgos.
(There is no end to mourning, searching, and questions until we find our loved ones.)
Burgos, an activist, was abducted on April 28, 2007 during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Isabel Batralo, vice chairperson of Desaparecidos, criticized the seeming disinterest of the government in addressing cases of disappearances despite the enactment of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012. Desaparecidos is a group representing the families of the disappeared.
The Philippines is neither a signatory nor a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
“Some of us, especially those whose relatives were abducted during the Marcos dictatorship, already died without seeing a glimmer of justice nor having even a slightest hint to their loved ones’ whereabouts,” Batralo said in a statement.
“What good is this law if it can’t punish those who perpetrate enforced disappearances? When will we see the day when the government ratifies and/or implements laws and conventions, according to its obligations?” she added.
According to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, enforced disappearance occurs when
persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of Government, or by organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law
Under a new Marcos admin
Desaparecidos denounced the disappearance of women’s rights advocate Elgene Mungcal and Anakpawis organizer Maria Elena Pampoza. They are believed to have been taken by state agents in Moncada, Tarlac on July 3, 2022.
The group also urged the public to strengthen their support to kin of victims of involuntary disappearance and other human rights violations, especially that the Marcoses are back in power.
“Under a Marcos Jr. presidency, we recognize that it will be more challenging for us to demand justice, especially with the massive campaign to distort history and facts on the human rights violations committed during his father’s rule,” Batralo said.
Desaparecidos cited the case of Adora Faye de Vera, whose husband Manual Manaog was abducted in 1990 and remains missing. De Vera, who endured torture and rape during Martial Law, was arrested on charges of multiple murder last week. She is also accused of rebellion in a separate case.
“With her recent arrest of fabricated charges, Adora is once again subjected to another form of injustice under another Marcos, while enduring the pain caused by the continuing disappearance of her husband,” Batralo said.
Adora is the elder sister of Commission on Higher Education chairperson Prospero "Popoy" de Vera. He has distanced himself from his sister's arrest and reiterated his support for the government's anti-insurgency efforts. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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