Groups demand surfacing of ‘abducted’ missing activists

By Jennifer B. Balgos

National minority groups demanded the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police to surface activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” De Jesus on the fifth month of their abduction allegedly by law enforcement agents.
    The groups gathered Sept. 28 at the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) in V. Luna Road corner East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City to press their surfacing.
    Families of the missing activists, friends and human rights organizations joined the protest.
    “This marks significance as the recent environmental advocates, Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro exposed in the press conference held by NTF-ELCAC itself that they were abducted by the military, forced to sign an affidavit in a military camp, and emphasized that they do not want to be under the custody of military,” they said in a press statement.
    Families and human rights organizations said they were “determined to expose the fact that Dexter and Bazoo were also abducted by the state forces -- Criminal Investigation and Detection Group agents and were last seen in Taytay, Rizal being forced into two separate vehicles,” they said in the statement. 
Indigenous peoples and Moro organizations joined the protest.
    After the mobilization, mural painting of the faces of Dexter and Bazoo took place at Katipunan Ave., at the back of UP Diliman, Student Union Building.