Asean lawmakers to gov’t: Find missing Pinoy activists

MANILA, Philippines — The Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) on Wednesday called on the government to find missing activists James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr. and to revoke the law creating the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

In a statement, the group which is composed of current and former parliamentarians in Southeast Asia expressed alarm over the disappearances of Jazmines and Salaveria, who joined “a list of 13 individuals—activists, organizers, and defenders of rights—who have been silenced and vanished without a trace.”

“Their disappearances mark a continuing and profoundly troubling trend under the Marcos Jr. regime, signaling a grave disregard for human rights and the sanctity of life,” APHR board member and former member of the Thai parliament Kasit Piromya said in the statement.

‘Professional’ abductors

The two Filipino activists, according to their legal counsels, were abducted on Aug. 23 and Aug. 28, respectively, by suspected state forces in Tabaco City, Albay province, judging by the “professional” manner in which they were taken based on CCTV footage.

APHR chair and member of Indonesia’s House of Representatives Mercy Chriesty Barends urged the government to “clarify their whereabouts and ensure their safety.”

At the same time, the group pushed for the revocation of Executive Order No. 70, which created NTF-Elcac, adding that the administration should “withdraw the counter-insurgency program that has victimized innocent civilians and human rights defenders.”

It further called on government officials to adhere to Republic Act No. 10353, or the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Act of 2012, and to human rights instruments of which the Philippines is a signatory, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

Jazmines, the younger brother of former National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultant Alan Jazmines, worked as an information officer for the League of Filipino Students and Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Salaveria, on the other hand, is an advocate for ecowaste management and a founding member of indigenous peoples’ rights groups Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa Katutubo and Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino.