Mother of missing PUP student suspicious of daughter’s messages

The mother of one of the supposedly missing Anakbayan-recruited students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines said Sunday that her daughter already reached out to her but she was convinced it was her daughter who communicated to her.

In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, Jovita Antoniano said her daughter sent a message to her saying that she is in good condition. But she said her supposed daughter used a different social media account.

“Nag-chat kahapon pero ibang account po. Hindi po ako satisfied sa chat e, kasi hindi po ganun ang way  ng chat ng anak ko,” Antoniano said.

The mother added that her daughter used to call her only “Nay” and her father “Tay,” but the message opened with, “Hello Nanay, Tatay.”

In the message, the missing student said that she was okay and she was happy, Antoniano said.

“Sa aming mga nanay, napakasakit po noon dahil halos binantayan inalagaan, lahat lahat,  tapos ganun lang? Sa loob ng isa, dalawa, o tatlong taon, mabubura lahat ng itinanim namin sa kanilang isipan.

"Tapos yun lang yung sasabihin nila sa amin parang wala lang kami?” she said.

Her daughter enrolled at PUP when she was 16 years old. She is now 20 and supposed to be a 2nd Year college student.

According to Antoniano, the last time they had communication with her daughter was in 2018.

"Isang taon na wala kaming communication. May 7 [2018] umuwi siya pero umalis din kinabukasan ng umaga, hanggang sa ngayon walang communication kahit chat or text. Wala akong idea kung saan ang anak ko, hindi ko alam kung saan kami lalapit," she told the Senate Committee on Dangerous Drugs during a hearing on Wednesday.

Aside from her, other mothers of the five allegedly missing students who are recruited by Anakabayan faced the senate committee to testify.

Some Anakbayan members and leaders are facing charges including kidnapping over the students' disappearance.

Youth mass organization Anakbayan already denied the allegations.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, one of the supposed missing students of the Far Easter University (FEU) said that she was not kidnapped and joined Anakbayan voluntarily. —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News