Bulatlat News
By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — In commemoration of this year’s International Day of the Disappeared, families of desaparecidos (victims of enforced disappearances) expressed their collective frustration over what they deemed as insufficient domestic legal remedies.
“One desaparecido is already too much. Let us not further allow the Marcos Jr. government to rob us of our loved ones, rights and justice,” said Desaparecidos in a statement, August 28.
In a press conference, August 28, Jigs Clamor, deputy secretary general of human rights group Karapatan, cited the legal measures undertaken by the families of the disappeared but to no avail.
Under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Karapatan has already documented 13 desaparecidos. Since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., there have been more than 1,900 victims of enforced disappearance, according to the Desaparecidos, a support group for families of the disappeared.
Denial of protection
Clamor said the search for the disappeared was met with denials by government authorities. He cited the case of William Lariosa, an abducted labor organizer from the Southern Mindanao Region, who has been missing since April 10, 2024. He was last seen in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon. Eyewitnesses said that elements of the 48th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army forcibly arrested Lariosa, which the latter denied.
Read: Search for missing labor activist expands in 1st month of disappearance
The family of Lariosa filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Malaybalay City on April 16.
The writ of habeas corpus in the Philippines is a fundamental legal mechanism that protects individuals’ 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.
The RTC, however, denied the Lariosa family’s petition due to lack of witnesses. Following this, the family, paralegal team, and the human rights advocates then secured two witnesses from their search mission.
The family then filed a motion for reconsideration for habeas corpus with the Court of Appeals (CA) in Cagayan de Oro. Lariosa’s wife, Rosiele Lariosa, said that CA denied their motion because, according to the court, the “witnesses were still insufficient.”
Karapatan said that they also assisted Lariosa’s family to file a writ of amparo and habeas data. A writ of amparo is available to persons whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated and threatened, while the habeas data works seeks to protect one’s right to privacy in life, liberty, or security.
All these legal remedies were denied in the level of CA, leaving them no choice but to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
Gabrielle Capuyan, daughter of Dexter Capuyan, also filed a writ of habeas data with the high court last August 13. Karapatan is set to accompany surfaced environmental defender Eco Dangla in filing the writ of amparo with the SC on August 30.
“The government remains slow and unresponsive in informing us about the progress of their investigation. Our family has been waiting for over a year. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), PNP (Philippine National Police), and CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) are primarily involved in the abduction of my father and Bazoo De Jesus,” said Gabrielle.
Capuyan and De Jesus were abducted in the evening of April 28 last year, in Taytay, Rizal, by individuals claiming to be members of PNP and CIDG. On July 5 last year, families of both activists filed separate habeas corpus petitions with the CA, but these were later denied.
Read: Families of missing IP rights advocates file habeas corpus
“They instill fear, attempting to weaken our resolve to fight. Despite this, we continue our search. Hope is alive that we will find them, the fight for justice continues, and our loved ones will return,” Gabrielle said.
If the writs would still be denied at the level of the highest court, the families and human rights groups have to look for available remedies abroad through the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) under the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures.
“Sometimes, there would be successful cases where the Courts approved the remedies such as the case of Jonas Burgos. However, the fact stays that Jonas [and other victims] remain missing,” said Clamor.
Most recent victim
Karapatan identified environmental defender Rowena Dasig as the most recent victim of enforced disappearance.
Paul Tagle of Free Owen and Ella Network, a group dedicated for the freedom of political prisoners Dasig and Miguela Peniero, said that they were informed by the paralegal of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on August 22 that Dasig was allegedly released on that day at around 7:30 a.m. However, the paralegal team had already been at the Lucena District Jail (LDJ) since August 21, and found no trace of Dasig.
On August 13, the Gumaca RTC Branch 172 granted Dasig’s petition for demurrer to evidence, effectively dismissing the charges due to lack of evidence. However, since the reported release of Dasig on August 22, she has not been seen, leaving her family, legal team, and human rights advocates concerned for her safety.
Read: Environmental defender goes missing after supposed release from prison
“[Dasig] is a good friend and a dedicated activist in the communities they serve, particularly among indigenous people. When they were illegally arrested, they were merely conducting community research in the town of Atimonan due to the construction of a power plant there. And until now, their rights continue to be violated,” said Tagle.
Dasig and Peniero were arrested by the elements of 85th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). Tagle underscored that the 85th IBPA should be held accountable for the illegal arrest and trumped up charges against Dasig, and the LDJ for providing insufficient information about her whereabouts.
“They even refused to sign our desaparecidos form for Dasig. This is heavy for every one of us, especially since she is the newest case of enforced disappearance under the administration of Marcos Jr.,” said Tagle.
Read: SONA 2023 | Still no justice for victims of enforced disappearances despite anti-disappearance law
A desaparecido 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.
Repression of grief
A mother of a desaparecido, Edita Burgos, condemned the recent attack on their family’s search for Jonas. She said that the documentary film “Alipato at Muog” is their way of remembering Jonas but they still face repression and censorship even in their expression of grief.
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) gave an “X” rating to the documentary film, claiming that it “tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly-constituted authorities.”
JL Burgos, director of the documentary and the brother of Jonas, appealed the rating to the MTRCB, urging the board to conduct a second review and rescind the “X” rating.
“We request your good office to take another look at Alipato At Muog with an open mind and an open heart. Our documentary is not fiction. It is a story of a family searching for their missing loved one. It is about human rights and the pursuit for justice,” JL said in his three-page letter.
Read: Filmmaker appeals government ban on documentary on the disappearance of activist-brother
“‘Alipato at Muog’ is our last attempt to remember and express our grief and agony for Jonas but they still want to cover it up, and prevent people from seeing it. This documentary only recorded the 17 years of our search for Jonas, and how it extended to the continuing cases of disappearance under the current administration,” said Mrs. Burgos.
National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya tried to discredit the disappearance of Jonas by saying that it was a “desperate attempt to revive an old case linking the military to the disappearance of Jonas Burgos.”
Among the implicated military personnel in the disappearance of Jonas is the current National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
“May we remind Malaya – ironic for his name – that enforced disappearance is a continuing crime. It will remain a crime until Jonas and other desaparecidos are surfaced. That is a daring truth,” Mrs. Burgos.
As of this writing, the Burgos family and the human rights groups are still awaiting the response from the MTRCB. (RVO) 
