Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 16) — Two environmental activists who went missing earlier this month have surrendered to authorities, according to the government’s anti-communist task force.
In a Facebook video posted on Friday, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Jhed Tamano and Jhonila Castro surrendered to the 70th Infantry Battalion in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan on Sept. 12.
Tamano and Castro were allegedly abducted by four armed men on Sept. 2 in Orion, Bataan. Both are community organizers working with fishermen opposing reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
The NTF-ELCAC’s statement came after various progressive and rights groups campaigned on social media, urging the government and the police force to produce the \”abducted\” activists.
READ: Congress asked to probe alleged abduction of 2 environmental defenders
The task force, however, dismissed their claims and said those were just \”propaganda\” against the state.
It added that the two female activists left the communist movement to return to their normal lives with their families.
The video also showed Tamano and Castro were visited by officials of the Commission on Human Rights.
READ: Groups claim state forces behind abduction of 2 women activists; PNP, AFP belie claim
Castro’s mother, rights groups call for immediate release
But Castro’s mother Rose refuted the claim that no report of a missing person was filed, saying they learned about the disappearance a day after the incident.
“Agaran kaming nag-report sa pulis ng Orion [We immediately reported it to the Orion police],” she told a news conference on Saturday. She added that she also contacted for help a certain Justin Gutierrez, who previously introduced himself as military personnel when he visited their home looking for Jolina.
\”Hindi niya agad ako sinagot, at sa pagtawag kinabukasan, wala man lang inialok na tulong,\” she said. \”Hindi pa rin siya kumokontak sa amin hanggang ngayon.\”
[Translation: He did not answer my call immediately. When he picked up the call the next day, he did not even offer help. He has not contacted us until now.]
Castro’s mother expressed alarm that the government did not notify them that her daughter was already under their custody. She said the family only learned about it when the NTF-ELCAC streamed the news conference on its Facebook page on Friday.
Bataan Provincial Police’s chief public information officer PCapt Carlito Buco Jr., National Security Council Assistant Director General and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, and Tamano’s father, Enrique, joined the news conference.
In the video, Tamano’s parents were also seen present during the alleged surrender of the activists.
\”Alam naman nila kung saan kami nakatira,\” she said. \”Malimit nga po silang nagpapadala ng tao sa amin, mga nagpapakilalang sundalo o bahagi ng NTF-ELCAC na parating hinahanap si Jonila.\”
[Translation: They know where we live. They frequently send personnel to our area, who were introducing themselves as military personnel or part of the NTF-ELCAC looking for Jonila.]
Rose, along with human rights groups AKAP Ka Manila Bay, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Promotion for Church Peoples’ Response, and Karapatan called for the immediate release of the two activists from government custody.
\”We demand the immediate safe release of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano… with no legal reason for state authorities to detain them, they should be released to their families immediately,\” the groups said in a joint statement on Friday.
They added that the affidavits and statements of Castro and Tamano remain in doubt as these were done under military custody.
The groups also said the absence of the two activists in a joint press conference of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the NTF-ELCAC on Friday only showed authorities were not prepared to present them to the media for questioning.
\”The NTF-ELCAC and PNP have failed to prove that no abduction took place,\” the statement read.
