On All Saints’ Day: Kin of “Desaparecidos” have no tomb to visit

CEBU, Philippines —  As part of the Filipino culture and tradition, families flock to the cemeteries to visit their departed loved ones and offer prayers. However, it is not the case for the kin of the “Desaparecidos.”

It is the Latin word for “disappeared.”

They are the victims who claimed to have been abducted during the Martial Law years during the rule of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

On the other hand, the local Catholic clergy has invited the faithful to also offer prayers for the "suffering" souls of the dead victims of the spate of killings in Metro Cebu.

Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio said Catholics should not only pray for their loved ones and relatives but also say some supplications for those that are forgotten and unremembered such as those people killed and were linked to drugs.

Cause-oriented group KARAPATAN said the number of the Desaparecidos continued to rise even after the Marcos’ regime.

From 1970 until 2012, they have recorded at least 1,860 individuals who were accosted or abducted and have never been found by their families.

The peak was during the administration of former President the late Corazon Aquino in 1986 to 1995.

It was followed by the Marcos’ era from 1970 to 1986 with 759, former President Fidel Ramos’ 1995 to 1998 with 39, President Joseph Estrada from 1998 to 2001 with 26, Gloria Arroyo from 2001 to 2010 with 206 and Benigno Aquino III from 2010 to 2012 with 9.

A daughter of one of the desaparecidos, Jimmylisa Badayos, recounted that she saw her father, Jimmy, accosted by cops on October 3, 1990.

She said they were barred from visiting her father, who was detained at Camp Sotero Cabahug, or the headquarters of Cebu City Police Office.

“I saw my father arrested by cops, I was still a kid then but it was clear to my memories, we tried seeing him but we were not allowed to by cops,” Jimmylisa said in the vernacular.

They filed a case for writ of habeas corpus against the administration but it was dismissed.

Jimmylisa is one of the members of Desaparecidos who visited the monument of a progressive priest Fr. Rudy Romano at the Redemptorist Church to pray for the souls of their loved ones in time when, praying for souls and saints is observed.

“Wala mi kahibalo asa siya, ang uban family naa kapdulngan sa kalag-kalag but kami wala, that’s why we gathered here to pray together for the souls of our loved ones,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bishop Florencio said only God can judge if those killed indeed have sinned and whether they can enter heaven or be thrown to hell.

He added if Catholics pray for these "suffering or poor" souls in purgatory, the same favor may return to them since these souls can help in praying for the living.

He said God may also favor the works of Catholics who pray and empathize for others, especially for the rejected, as "prayers" is an important aspect among Christians.

He added that when people die, "triumphant" souls go to heaven and that is what the Catholic Church celebrates today - the All Saints' Day. All the saints, both known and unknown, intercede for others especially for the living that are enslaved by sin and for the suffering souls trapped in the purgatory.

Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo said the "communion of the saints" is a theological principle of the Catholic Church.

"The Church is a communion not only of those who are alive in this world but also with those whose souls are in the state of purification and those already united with the Lord in heaven," he said.

"Because of this communion, our prayers for the departed will always be heard by God as it is an act of genuine concern for our brothers and sisters," he added.

Diocesan priest Ruben Labajo, head of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, which is the ecclesiastical seat of the Cebu archdiocese, agreed that people should include in their prayers the souls of dead individuals involved in the killings here.

More so, Catholics should also pray for those behind the killings and the innocent lives dragged by the bloody war.

"Let us also pray for the souls of those responsible and victims of the spate of killings nowadays... The more we have to pray for those unforgotten souls. They need much of our prayer," he said.

Religious priest Ric Anthony Reyes from the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu also urged people to pray for the souls of all faithful departed including those perished in the killings in Cebu.

"Prayers offered for the repose of their souls is a teaching of the Church that lets us realize we are one community of God in helping each other through our prayers," he said. — GAN (FREEMAN)