Metro Manila, CNN Philippines (June 5) – Alarmed over the recent disappearances of its three alumni and another individual, the University of the Philippines (UP) urged the government to guarantee their safety and uphold their constitutional rights.
“The UP system urges all government agencies, especially those engaged in the administration of justice and law enforcement, to ensure that our missing alumni are located and to guarantee their safety and to uphold their constitutional rights,” UP said in a statement on Saturday.
The university said Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, and Dexter Capuyan from UP Baguio are known indigenous peoples’ rights activists, while Patricia Nicole Cierva of UP Manila and her companion Cedrick Casaño are peasant and youth organizers.
According to UP Baguio Outcrop, the official student publication of UP Baguio, Capuyan and De Jesus were reportedly missing since April 28. They were allegedly abducted from Taytay, Rizal by state forces.
De Jesus is an Information and Communication Officer for Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (TFIP) while Capuyan is an activist leader based in La Trinidad, Benguet.
TFIP said a witness claimed that the abductors introduced themselves as members of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) earlier said it is conducting an investigation following the petition of one victim’s family member and online allegations that the two are under the custody of state security units.
“This latest case of ‘desaparecidos’ manifests the continuing vulnerability of activists to involuntary disappearance and its other possible implications, such as illegal detention, torture, and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” the CHR said.
Meanwhile, Cierva, a developmental studies alumna, was taken earlier in March together with Casaño in the municipality of Gonzaga, Cagayan, according to UP Manila.
It said the alleged abductors were members of the Philippine Army’s 501st Infantry Brigade.
CNN Philippines is requesting comment from the PNP and the Philippine Army.
