Bayan Muna’s missing campaigner had been found two days after being abducted by government soldiers, the partylist’s Southern Tagalog chapter announced.
Bayan Muna-Southern Tagalog said Pauline Joy Banjawan was found in the custody of the Philippine National Police-Sto. Tomas in Batangas province last Monday afternoon after two days of search by family and friends.
They learned that the victim was abducted by elements of the 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army last Saturday.
Banjawan’s last message to her mother before going missing was that she was being tailed by “suspicious-looking men.”
The victim was then campaigning for Bayan Muna and the Makabayan Coalition in poor communities in Sto. Tomas, the partylist said.
Banjawan suffered physical and mental torture, Bayan Muna added.
She was reportedly charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, standard charges by the police against activists.
Banjawan’s abduction, disappearance as well as being charged with trumped-up cases also constitute political persecution during an election period, Bayan Muna said.
The partylist said Banjawan should be immediately freed.
In a statement, Karapatan-Southern Tagalog also condemned the abduction of and filing of trumped-up charges against Banjawan.
“The state’s violence and repression are meant to scare the people and prevent genuine political change. Pauline Joy Banjawan’s abduction is just one example of their desperation to maintain control over the electoral process and silence those who truly represent the masses,” Karapatan-Southern Tagalog spokesperson Rev. Luisito Saliendra said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
