The families of Desaparecidos for Justice (Desaparecidos) condemned on Monday the mysterious disappearance of Jonas Joseph Burgos and Melisa Reyes over the weekend in Quezon City.
"This is a brazen act which only state security forces will have the motive and gall to carry out. It’s ironic that it happened to a member of the Burgos family that had opposed and survived Martial Law and still continues to defend civil rights and press freedom," Desaparecidos spokesperson Ghay Portajada said in a statement.
GMANews.TV tried to reach Armed Forces information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro for his reaction but would not answer calls to his mobile phone.
Jonas or Jay-jay is the son of the late Jose "Joe" Burgos Jr, a seasoned journalist who was once jailed for criticizing the repressive regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
Jay-jay, 36, failed to come home to his family in Tandang Sora, Quezon City on April 28. His family tried to contact him through his cellphone the whole night, but it was only at 10:46 a.m. the next day that they received messages from him which did not make any sense, the Desaparecidos statement said.
His family was still able to talk to him on the phone but his voice sounded drowsy and his words did not make sense as if he were drugged, it added.
At the time of their disappearance, Jay-jay had been giving agri technology trainings to members of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.
Portajada lamented that Jay-jay’s disappearance happened, not in a remote village in the countrysides, but here in Quezon City where there is much presence of both police and military elements.
"We call on the responsible elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to surface Jay-jay and Melisa. We dare the Arroyo administration to solve this disappearance, and use all possible resources and technologies to locate Jay-jay, whose phone is still active and could actually be tracked," Portajada said.
"We pray that Jay-jay and Melisa will be surfaced alive, just like urban poor leader Lourdes "Nay Ude" Rubrico, who was abducted and detained by intelligence agents for one week at the Fernando Basa Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas," Portajada added.
Desaparecidos said that there are now a total of 198 victims of enforced disappearances during the six years under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. - GMANews.TV
Posted by marga at Abril 30, 2007 3:34 PM | TrackBack