Hustisya, Desaparecidos: Marcos Jr. must account for killings, enforced disappearances

[KARAPATAN Public Information]

PRESS STATEMENT

27 July 2026 

For reference: Atty. VJ Topacio, Hustisya National Board member

through KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580

Hustisya, Desaparecidos: Marcos Jr. must account for killings, enforced disappearances

On the occasion of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Hustisya (Victims United for Justice) and Desaparecidos (Families of Victims of Enforced Disappearance) renewed their demands for the Marcos Jr. regime and its minions in the military and police to be held accountable for the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances they continue to perpetrate. “Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been forming government bodies ostensibly to look into human rights violations,” said Hustisya spokesperson Atty. VJ Topacio, “but the prevalence of extrajudicial killings (EJK) under his watch shows that these are all PR gimmickry.”

“There have been 147 EJK victims since Marcos Jr. took the reins of power,” added Topacio. “In addition, another 87 individuals survived attempts on their lives. Many of the victims are peasant activists falsely reported as armed rebels killed in so-called encounters. None of the perpetrators,” said Topacio, “has been held accountable.” Topacio’s elderly parents, both retired NDFP consultants, were gunned down in their home in 2020 in a fake encounter.

Desaparecidos chair and spokesperson JL Burgos pointed out that enforced disappearances continue despite the existence of a law since 2012 that defines enforced disappearance as a crime and provides harsh penalties for perpetrators. “Obviously, this law has failed to penetrate the thick veil of impunity that has shielded perpetrators of this state-sponsored crime,” stressed Burgos, whose brother Jonas was forcibly disappeared in 2006.

The latest reported disappearance under Marcos Jr. is that of Elena Rambuyon, 57, who was last seen traveling along the Agusan del Sur national highway on July 20, 2026 aboard a white van. Rambuyon first reported to a human rights organization that she was being tailed by another vehicle and later said she was being held captive by military personnel at around 7:00 a.m. of July 20. She has not been heard from since and her whereabouts remain unknown. She is the 17th victim of enforced disappearance under Marcos Jr.

The other victims are Elgene Mungcal and Ma. Elena Pampoza who disappeared in Tarlac on July 3, 2022, just three days into Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s rule; NDFP consultant Ariel Badiang who was last seen in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon on February 6, 2023; habal-habal drivers Renel delos Santos and Denald Mialen and their passenger Lyn Grace Martullinas who were abducted in Negros Occidental on April 19, 2023; Gene Roz Jamil De Jesus and Bontoc-Ibaloi-Kankanaey Dexter Capuyan, two indigenous peoples' rights defenders, who were last seen on April 28, 2023 in Taytay, Rizal; farmers Norman Ortiz and Lee Sudario who were taken by men in military uniform from a barangay in Nueva Ecija on September 29, 2023; fisherfolk organizer Mariano Jolongbayan who went missing on November 17, 2023 in Batangas; trade unionist William Lariosa, who was abducted by soldiers in Bukidnon on April 10, 2025; long-time activists Felix Salaveria Jr. and James Jazmines who disappeared on August 23 and 28, respectively, in Tabaco, Albay; Bicolano youth Gerald Gestole, who was seized in San Pedro, Laguna on November 17, 2024; and NDFP-Cagayan staff Scarlet Lyne Gayo, who was last seen in Cavite in December 2025 while on medical leave.

“Now that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be giving his report to the nation anew, we will be marching and airing our demands that he tell the truth about these killings and enforced disappearances, that justice be rendered to the victims and that the perpetrators be held to account,” said Topacio. “We have had enough of inutile task forces and superbodies. The fascist laws and policies that have engendered horrific human rights violations must be put to a stop,” he concluded.

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