The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has started its own probe on the abduction last Aug. 20 of 63-year-old Stephen "Steve" Tauli, a member of the regional council of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and an active advocate of indigenous people's (IP) rights.
It said the CPA has found Tauli last Aug. 21 after "persistent calls made to the local government units, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines."
Quoting police reports, the CHR said that Tauli was abducted near the CPA’s Kalinga office at Ag-a Road, Appas, Tabuk City in the evening of Aug. 20. Five men reportedly took Tauli and placed him inside a white vehicle, it said.
The CHR said Tauli’s colleagues obtained a closed circuit television video showing five men from a red vehicle entering their office around 7:53 p.m. on Aug. 20 and leaving after five minutes.
It also said that prior to his abduction, Tauli has been subjected to red-tagging incidents, surveillance, and harassment.
CHR Executive Director Jacqueline Ann de Guia said that the CHR is "gravely alarmed" over the attack against an elderly activist, and the commission is now conducting its own probe to seek justice for Tauli.
"We equally expect resolute investigation by the local authorities and the PNP to ascertain truth and accountability on this latest violation against a staunch advocate of IP and human rights," De Guia said.
Also, she said, the CHR is intensifying its monitoring of the “continuing trend of hostility against members of progressive groups.”
"We reiterate our fervent clamor to the government to ensure the protection and welfare of all individuals and groups, regardless of socio-political affiliations and ideological beliefs, to genuinely demonstrate its unity agenda that should cater to the rights of all," De Guia also said.