‘The abduction of Jazmines and Salaveria bears these indicators, which are similar to previous cases of such abductions committed by state forces,’ Karapatan secretary general Tinay Palabay says
MANILA, Philippines – The families of James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr. have urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to take action following the abduction of the missing activists.
“Our father is loved and respected in the community of Barangay Cobo, Tabaco,” Felicia Ferrer, Salaveria’s daughter, said during a press conference on Monday, September 23. “My family and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to abduct him since he is a peaceful man and has never harmed anyone.”
“During the mission, I was saddened that there wasn’t a stronger sense of urgency from the police to find my father. Hence, we are also calling on President Marcos as commander-in-chief and DILG Secretary Abalos to take action under command responsibility,” Gab Ferrer, the activist’s other daughter, said.
Gab and Felicia also demanded Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr., Philippine National Police chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil, and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to surface the activist immediately. During the press conference, lawyer Antonio La Viña, counsel for the Salaveria family, said that “security forces” may be involved in the abduction.
“What we want to establish here is this was a professional operation; military intelligence, police. Only a state security agency could do something as sophisticated as this,” La Viña said.
Salaveria and Jazmines, friends and activists, were abducted within five days of each other in August in Tabaco City, Albay. The two, who have long histories of activism, were the 14th and 15th victims of enforced disappearance or desaparecidos under Marcos Jr.
“We are not begging. We are demanding that their basic human rights be respected and that they be surfaced immediately,” Jazmines’ wife, Cora, said.
The families of the abducted activists, including their counsels, presented a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing Salaveria’s abduction. The video was discovered after the fact-finding mission of the activists’ family and counsels.
In the video, Salaveria can be seen walking in broad daylight when a van stopped in front of him, followed by the alighting of abductors who forced him to get in the vehicle.
There was no footage of Jazmines’ abduction, but the activists’ camp shared screenshots of “vehicles of interest” spotted in the area where the activist was abducted.
According to Karapatan secretary general Tinay Palabay, witnesses also said that “uniformed [policemen]” later broke into Salaveria’s house at least twice on the day of his abduction. The cops allegedly took away Salaveria’s personal belongings, including cell phones and laptop.
“An operation like this is highly organized and it was done in broad daylight, indicating the brazen character of the crime. The abduction of Jazmines and Salaveria bears these indicators, which are similar to previous cases of such abductions committed by state forces. Several questions remain as the two remain missing, and this includes questions on state actors’ duty to investigate such incidents. So far, no government official has publicly spoken on their abduction,” Palabay said.
Section 8 of Republic Act No. 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act mandates security agencies to issue a certification to the family, lawyer, human rights organization, or journalist about the presence or absence of missing persons in their facilities.
“Due to the prevailing culture of impunity, however, RA 10353 has failed to act as a deterrent against enforced disappearances, a crime that is on the rise under the Marcos Jr. regime,” Palabay said.
There have been a total of 38 cases of desaparecidos under the administration of the dictator’s son. Jazmines and Salaveria were the 14th and 15th, and the disparity is because some of the desaparecidos had already been surfaced. Since Ferdinand E. Marcos’ dictatorship in the ’70s, there have been 2,586 victims of enforced disappearances. More than half of this number, or 1,915, are still missing to this day.
RA 10353 was passed in 2012 to speed up the resolution of enforced disappearance cases. But 11 years since its passage, the law has yet to be fully implemented, and so far, no person has been sanctioned with life imprisonment, which is the law’s maximum punishment. – Rappler.com
