Poem by Mercedita de Jesus | Message from Karapatan
Marking All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day is difficult for parents and families of desaparecidos.
Karapatan joins the families of the desaparecidos in the difficult remembering of All Souls’ Day and All Saints Day (Nov 1 & Nov 2) in this message:
Surface all desaparecidos!
Today, as the Filipinos all over the country remember their dead, families of the forcibly disappeared will once again find themselves in limbo. Their loved ones’ absence somehow marks their kinship with the bereaved. But setting them apart is the absence of a body to mourn or a grave to visit.
Families of the disappeared are left in a perpetual state of anguish, uncertainty and psychological trauma. As long as the cases of their loved ones remain unresolved, there is neither justice nor closure. Being a state-sponsored act, the terror that enforced disappearance leaves in its wake also represses entire communities, stifling free expression and dissent. There is a climate of repression where human rights can more easily be violated systematically.
Enforced disappearance remains a grave human rights violation in the Philippines, a stark statement on the absence of justice and accountability.
Under the Marcos Jr. regime, 14 individuals have fallen victim to this heinous practice. Since the perpetrators of this state-instigated crime would wish the forcibly disappeared to be forgotten, it is our responsibility as freedom-loving Filipinos to make sure this never happens. They are:
Elgene Mungcal and Ma. Elena Pampoza (last seen in Moncada, Tarlac on July 3, 2022); Renel delos Santos, Denald Laloy Mialen and Lyn Grace Martullinas (last seen in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on April 19, 2023); Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus (last seen in Taytay, Rizal on April 28, 2023); Deah Lopez (last seen in Sipalay, Negros Occidental on September 15, 2023); Lee Sudario and Norman Ortiz (last seen in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija on September 29, 2023); Mariano Jolongbayan (last seen in Lian, Batangas on November 17, 2023); William Lariosa (last seen in Quezon, Bukidnon on April 10, 2024); James Jazmines (last seen in Albay on August 23, 2024 in Tabaco, Albay); and Felix Salaveria Jr. (last seen on August 28, 2024 in Tabaco, Albay).
Enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings and other grave violations of human rights persist because of the prevailing culture of impunity. Laws against enforced disappearance, such as Republic Act 10353 that has been in existence since 2012, have proven inutile in deterring this crime. The inability of families, human rights organizations and investigators to find victims of enforced disappearance in regular detention centers points to the existence of a vast network of secret detention facilities or “safehouses” maintained by the state where victims are subjected to interrogation, physical and psychological torture or even extrajudicial killing.
We must persevere in raising public awareness against enforced disappearance, provide support to victims’ families and demand that the state put a stop to this abominable crime. We must wage campaigns indefatigably to uncover the truth and hold perpetrators accountable.
We owe this to Elgene and Elena; to Renel, Deland and Lyn Grace; to Dexter and Bazoo; to Deah; to Lee and Norman; to Mariano; to William; to James; to Felix and all others across the regimes who had been forcibly taken from us but are never forgotten.###
