Rosiele said that most visits were from soldiers in civilian clothing, adding that the worst part of these military visits was the threat on the lives of all family members. “If it happens that my husband is at home, they threatened me that we would all be affected, they would seize our whole family.”
By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Rosiele Laroisa, wife of disappeared trade union organizer William Lariosa, traveled to Manila to amplify the campaign for the surfacing of her husband.
On September 10, it will be the fifth month of William’s disappearance. He was last seen in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon. Eyewitnesses said that elements of the 48th Infantry Battalion forcibly arrested Lariosa.
Read: Search for missing labor activist expands in 1st month of disappearance
“I knew he was very committed to his work,” Rosiele said in Filipino. “He spent more than 30 years in organizing.”
It was in 1989 when Rosiele and William first met as full-time organizers. William was an organizer under the Center for Community Health Services (CCHS) while Rosiele was organizing farmers under the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
Rosiele and her eldest son Marklen described William as a loving father, far from the claims of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that he was a terrorist.
In a press conference, Rosiele detailed the harassment that her family experienced from the NTF-ELCAC and military. “They were persistently looking for my husband. They were forcing me to convince my husband to surrender.”
Rosiele said that most visits were from soldiers in civilian clothing, adding that the worst part of these military visits was the threat on the lives of all family members. “If it happens that my husband is at home, they threatened me that we would all be affected, they would seize our whole family.”
The harassment started on June 20, 2022. The military visited their house at least four times, affecting the whole family. “We have three children and they are also anxious that something bad is always going to happen,” Rosiele said.
Ever since the start of the military visits, William had taken refuge in a sanctuary in Bukidnon. However, this has not stopped suspicious people from tracking him until he became the 13th victim of enforced disappearance under the Marcos Jr. administration as of this writing.
In an earlier Bulatlat report, the family’s attempts to find legal remedies for William were in vain not only because of the military’s denial but also of the court’s unfavorable decision.
Read: Kin of the disappeared find domestic legal remedies wanting
William’s family filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Malaybalay City on April 16. Two days after, the hearing concluded with the decision to deny the writ due to deficiency of witnesses. “Since his disappearance, we have tried our best and exhausted all means to search for my husband. We wanted to see him,” Rosiele said.
This persistence resulted in several search missions, together with paralegals and union leaders of KMU-Southern Mindanao Region, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), Anakbayan Southern Mindanao, and Kabataan Partylist, under the banner of the campaign Surface William Lariosa.
They expanded their search to Quezon and Maramag, Bukidnon, and went to Butong Barangay Hall, Quezon Municipal Police Station, and the 48th Infantry Battalion camp. Both the police and military denied any knowledge on William’s whereabouts.
Members of the Surface William Lariosa campaign found inconsistencies in the Desaparecidos Form signed by the military officer. This form is cited under Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law which authorities have to sign to show proof that the missing person is not under their custody.
The officer who introduced himself as Cpt. Labasa initially signed the form using the name Dexter Ramos. When asked for a duplicate copy, the officer returned the document with a different signature under the name of Jhony Tumbayan who was the camp’s security guard.
“Despite this, we were able to gather two witnesses who we presented to the court as we filed for Motion for Reconsideration (MR) in Cagayan de Oro on July 16. However, we were still denied [of legal remedies],” said Rosiele.
The writ of habeas corpus in the Philippines seeks to protect an individual’s human rights, particularly the right to liberty and protection against unlawful detention. From a human rights-based approach, the writ serves as a safeguard against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and abuse of power by state authorities.
This was denied at the level of the Court of Appeals, leaving them no choice but to appeal it to the Supreme Court where the case remains pending.
The case of William was also brought to the 112th International Labor Conference (ILC) held in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2024. “Appeals from Lariosa’s family and colleagues in KMU have so far been ignored, with the military even doubling down on harassing and red-tagging Lariosa’s colleagues in the labor movement in Mindanao,” stated a report submitted by the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR).
As the family waits for the Supreme Court’s decision, Rosiele continues to call for justice. “My only appeal, especially to those in power in the government, is for enforced disappearance to stop. The abduction of activists and human rights defenders are unjust — they have not done anything wrong but to help the poor and those in need. I hope they also recognize their human rights. I hope they reveal the whereabouts of those who have gone missing.” (RTS, DAA)
