Independent probe sought on case of 2 activists  

MANILA, Philippines — A human rights organization is calling for an independent investigation into the alleged abduction of two environment activists who were in the custody of the military.

Everyone involved in the disappearance of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, including the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), should be held accountable, according to Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay.

“The initial list of those who should be charged should include those who played prominent roles in what would have been an elaborate and sinister cover-up of Jonila and Jhed’s abduction, enforced disappearance and fake or forced surrender, had the victims not courageously turned the tables on their abductors,” Palabay said.

“Deeper probes should be conducted by credible and independent bodies to determine the culpability of other personalities in this despicable crime,” she added.

Castro and Tamano disappeared in Orion, Bataan on Sept. 2 while preparing for an outreach activity in communities affected by reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

The government initially denied having custody of the two, but the NTF-ELCAC later held a press conference claiming that Castro and Tamano “voluntarily surrendered” and supposedly signed affidavits admitting that they left the communist movement.

The NTF-ELCAC held another press conference last Tuesday, saying it would present the two activists who would confirm the contents of the affidavit.

But Castro and Tamano instead accused the military of abduction and coercion, saying they were forced to sign the affidavits after they were taken last Sept. 2.

The NTF-ELCAC said it was surprised by the statements and stood by its version of events.

Karapatan said the incident is “more than enough” basis for the abolition of NTF-ELCAC.

Palabay said President Marcos, as chair of the NTF-ELCAC, along with co-vice chairpersons Vice President Sara Duterte and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, should also be made accountable under the principle of command responsibility.

The camps of Castro and Tamano have yet to announce if they would file charges over the incident.

Before they were released last Tuesday night, they held a closed-door meeting with Commission on Human Rights officials.

Perjury raps set

In a related development, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro yesterday disclosed that perjury charges would be filed against Castro and Tamano for making it appear that they were forced by soldiers to sign sworn affidavits against their will.

“We will be filing charges against the activists,” Teodoro said shortly after the House of Representatives terminated plenary deliberations on the Department of National Defense’s proposed budget for 2024.

Castro and Tamano claimed that they were abducted by soldiers while they were walking in Bataan, belying reports that they were seeking government help because they wanted to leave the communist movement.

The Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army reported that the two women had voluntarily surrendered to authorities.

Liable

Those involved in the abduction are liable for violating Republic Act 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act, which penalizes the crime of involuntary or enforced disappearance with life imprisonment, according to Palabay.

“It prohibits practices such as solitary confinement, holding persons incommunicado or other similar forms of detention,” she said.

“We demand that state authorities disclose the Pampanga safehouse where Jonila and Jhed were brought to after they were abducted in Bataan as other secret detention facilities being maintained by the police and the military. There should be full disclosure and dismantling of such secret detention places,” she added.

Palabay said attempts to portray Castro and Tamano as “surrenderees” is the first such incident under the current government, citing the abduction of union organizers Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha in Cebu and indigenous people’s activist Steve Tauli in Cordillera.

“These form part of a sinister pattern of state-sponsored abductions and coercion to force activists to renounce their pro-people advocacies, disaffiliate from and misrepresent their organizations,” Palabay said.

“In view of this, Karapatan calls for an independent probe on all previous ‘surrenders’ of ‘former rebels’ and for the latter to be represented by competent counsels of their choice, free from any form of custody or coercion by state forces,” she added.

Impartial

Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes yesterday dared President Marcos to order an impartial investigation on the abduction of Castro and Tamano.

“Isn’t the testimony of the two, aired at great risk to their lives while under military custody, enough to warrant a full-blown?investigation?” Reyes said in a statement.

He added that Marcos should also fire all the government officials engaged in the elaborate cover-up to make it appear that the two women voluntarily surrendered to the military as they wanted to leave the communist movement.

Marcos should also abolish the NTF-ELCAC for its blunder after the press conference held in Plaridel, Bulacan, where the two activists would supposedly claim they surrendered to the government blew up in their faces, according to the Bayan leader.

Castro and Tamano, anti-reclamation activists, insisted that the contents of their affidavits, which state that they left the communist movement, were false as those were signed while they were under the custody of the military.

“Shouldn’t you issue an unequivocal statement that abductions and forced surrenders are not acceptable because they are human rights violations?” Reyes told Marcos. – Neil Jayson Servallos, Emmanuel Tupas, Delon Porcalla