Castro, Tamano urge surfacing of other missing activists

The two environmental advocates who said they had been abducted by the military have called for the surfacing of other missing activists.

According to Mark Salazar’s report on “24 Oras,” Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano made the appeal after a  meeting with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), their parents, as well as members of the Gabriela and Kabataan party-list groups.

“Hindi lang naman kami ang mga nawawala kaya ang panawagan namin ay ilitaw din ang iba pang enforced disappearances na alam naman natin kung saan, sino ba ang may pakana sa lahat ng ito,” an emotional Tamano said.

(We’re not the only ones who went missing that's why we are calling for the surfacing of other victims of enforced disappearances, for which we know who are responsible.)

Castro urged the continued fight against the reclamation project in Manila Bay, which she said affected the rights and livelihood of fisherfolks.

“Ituloy ang laban sa pagpapatigil sa mga reklamasyon. Ipagtanggol ang karapatan, kabuhayan ng mga mangingisda sa Manila Bay," Castro said.

"Ituloy natin ang pakikibakang isinasagawa natin ngayon. Maraming maraming salamat talaga,” she added.

(Let us continue the fight against reclamation. Let us fight for the rights and livelihood of fishers in Manila Bay. Thank you.)

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) turned over the activists to the CHR following a press conference in Plaridel, Bulacan.

During the media briefing, Castro and Tamano denied they surrendered to government authorities, saying they had been abducted by the military.

This was contrary to the NTF-ELCAC’s statement on Friday saying the “missing” activists surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 70th Infantry Battalion (70IB) in Doña Remedios Trinidad in Bulacan province on September 12.

“Ang tanong na dinukot ba kami o kusa kaming nag-surrender. Ang totoo po ay dinukot kami ng mga militar sakay ng van,” Castro said.

(On whether we were abducted or we surrendered, the truth is we were abducted by military personnel onboard a van.)

Castro said the military threatened them to force them to surrender, and that the content of the affidavit they signed was false.

“Napilitan din kami na sumurrender dahil pinagbantaan ang buhay namin. Iyon po ang totoo. Hindi rin namin ginusto na mapunta kami sa kustodiya ng militar. Hindi rin totoo iyong laman ng affidavit dahil ginawa, pinirmahan iyon sa loob ng kampo ng militar. Wala na kaming magagawa sa pagkakataon na iyon,” she said.

(We were forced to surrender because we were threatened. That’s the truth. We also did not want to be in military custody. The content of the affidavit is not true because it was done and signed inside the military camp. We cannot do anything during that time.)

NTF-ELCAC officials said they were “appalled” and “deeply saddened” by the activists’ allegations but would stand by their previous remarks. —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA Integrated News