2 community development workers reported missing in Cebu  

MANILA, Philippines — Various groups sounded the alarm yesterday over the disappearance of two community development workers in Cebu.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha have been reported missing since Jan. 10.

Gumanao is a volunteer coordinator of ACT in Central Visayas. Dayoha is a coordinator of the Alliance of Health Workers in Cebu.

“Dyan and Armand’s disappearance came after a series of reported incidents of surveillance by suspected state forces since 2020, with Dyan noting escalated tailing in the last quarter of 2022,” ACT said.

Gumanao and Dayoha were supposed to return to Cebu after spending the holiday break with their families on Tuesday, but stopped communicating with them, Karapatan-Central Visayas said.

“After three whole days without any communication with their families and co-workers, their parents and co-workers have decided to seek help from government agencies to locate Dyan and Armand and ensure their safety,” the group said.

ACT party-list Rep. France Castro called on newly appointed National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to look into the disappearance of the two development workers.

Gumanao, a former student leader at the University of the Philippines in Cebu, was among those arrested during a protest against the anti-terrorism bill in 2020.

Dayoha, a psychology graduate, is finishing his second degree in fine arts, also at UP Cebu.

“In the past few months, Dyan and Armand have been reporting to friends and loved ones that they have been observing persistent suspected surveillance and tailing targeting them,” Karapatan said.

”These irregularities that they have observed have been considered to be possible monitoring of the two of them as active development workers and long-time human rights advocates in Cebu,” it added. – Rhodina Villanueva, Sheila Crisostomo