Bulatlat News
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Families and friends continue to call for the surfacing of their disappeared loved ones as they commemorate international day of the disappeared on Aug. 30 (Wednesday).
Led by the group Desaparecidos, they went to the Court of Appeals in Manila, urging the courts to decide in favor of the petition of writ of habeas corpus filed by the families of missing activists Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus and Dexter Capuyan. They were last seen in Tanay, Rizal on April 28.
According to Kapatan, there were eight victims of enforced disappearance in the first year of Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration. This is alarming for rights groups as it already accounts for 40 percent of the 20 documented cases under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term (2016-2022).
Read: SONA 2023 | Still no justice for victims of enforced disappearances despite anti-disappearance law
Read: Families of missing IP rights advocates file habeas corpus
“As four months have passed without any news on the condition of Bazoo and Manong Dexter, our plea continues that they be surfaced, their whereabouts be known soonest,” Idda de Jesus, sister of Gene Roz Jamil, said.
“Days have turned into weeks and weeks into months. We continue to seek justice and hope the day will soon come when we stop counting, and we worry no more,” Eli Capuyan, brother of Dexter, said.
Among the eight missing activists under the Marcos Jr administration, women’s group Gabriela said that three were women (Elgene Mungcal and Ma. Elena “Cha” Pampoza from Central Luzon and Lyn Grace Martullinas from Negros Occidental).
For her part, Ruth Mangalan called for the surfacing of her partner Elizabeth Magbanua, a labor organizer who went missing together with colleague Alipio “Ador” Juat on May 3, 2022. The Supreme Court also granted writ of amparo petition filed by the families.
Karapatan-Central Visayas also lit candles for the disappeared.
“Today, we light a candle for Fr. Rudy Romano, Elena Tijamo, Rowena Pastorite, Jimmy Badayos, Romeo Bangkal, Mario Pogoy, Cirilo Pacundo, Edgar Andrino, Anselmo Malgue, Romeo Camongay, Eleuterio Castillon, Socorro Mirabueno, Valentin Lumactod, Rosita Carmelotes, Bonifacio Guillano, Flaviano Arante, Calixto Alfante, Edgardo Godinez, Roland Levi Ybañez, Gerry Caburnay, Arthur Lucenario, and all the other victims of enforced disappearances,” the group said in a statement.
The group said that the victims of enforced disappearances have dedicated their lives to serve the underserved and fearlessly advocated for truth and justice.
“State agents and fascists are so deathly afraid of their boldness. Desperate to silence their voices, they are violently yanked away from their loved ones, families, and the community they fight with,” Karapatan-Central Visayas said in a statement.
“Our strength and determination mirror the struggles faced by numerous families across the nation who persistently seek answers regarding their missing loved ones,” Isabel Batralo, vice chairperson of Desaparecidos, said. Her brother Cesar was a peasant organizer who went missing in 2006 during the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo where a high number of disappeared activists and peace consultants were documented.
Batralo added that they will be monitoring the upcoming promulgation on Sept. 27 of the cases of kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and serious physical injuries filed in a Malolos court against former Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan by farmer Raymond Manalo and his brother Reynaldo in 2016.
Batralo said they hope that the court will find Palparan guilty of the crimes against the Manalo brothers, “just as it did in 2018 on the cases filed by the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno.”
Read: A second conviction for The Butcher? | Bulacan court asked to convict Palparan over Manalo brothers abduction
Read: ‘Palparan, 2 other Army officials guilty of kidnapping 2 disappeared students’
“The act of enforced disappearances is a heinous crime and is inherently unjust. For families of the disappeared, justice remains elusive, which is why we persist in our fight, ” Batralo said. (DAA) 
