Families of "desaparecidos" or persons who disappeared and the human rights groups on Tuesday, Aug. 30, held a program to commemorate the "International Day of the Disappeared" at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.
Members and supporters of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA), Karapatan, and the Decaparecidos (Families Of the Disappeared for Justice) attended the program.
According to the CARMMA Facebook page, some 1,900 victims of enforced disappearance were recorded in the last 50 years, from the martial law era of the Marcos dictatorship to the Duterte regime, which the group called "Singkwentang taon ng kawalan ng hustisya (Fifty years of injustice)".
Supporters and family members of the victims shared testimonies and performances at the event.
"Ang torture ay hindi lang nanunuot sa mga buto ng mga tinorture, gumuguhit din sa mga pamilya (Torture isn't just felt by the victims but also by their families as well)," shared JL Burgos, a relative of victim Jonas Burgos who was abducted in 2007 under the term of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Isabel "Beleth'' Batralo, the group's vice chairperson, urged the public to reinforce support to the families and friends of victims of enforced disappearances and other human rights violations, especially now that the Marcoses are back in power.
"From Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s bloody martial rule to his son's current regime, hundreds of people -- farmers, workers, activists, human rights defenders, among others -- were forcibly taken and disappeared by state forces in their attempts to stifle dissent. All of them remain missing to this day. We strongly reiterate the call to surface Elgene, Maria Elena, and all our loved ones," said Batralo.
Batralo is the younger sister of Cesar Batralo, National Democratic Front of the Philippine (NDF) peace consultant, who was abducted in 2006.
To end the event, families and relatives of desaparecidos held photos of their missing loved ones. They demanded to strengthen the call to surface loved ones and vow to continue the demand for justice.
The CARMMA, Karapatan, and Desaparecidos are different campaign networks established for civil libertarians, peace and freedom advocates, and human rights groups and victims. (Diann Ivy Calucin)