Never Again to Marcosian Disappearances : An appeal for writ of habeas corpus to surface Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo de Jesus
KARAPATAN Public Information
Please see the press release of KATRIBU on the filing of the petition for the writ of habeas corpus for Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus. Both remain missing to this day.
KATRIBU Kalipunan ang Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas
Room 304 National Council of Churches in the Philippines
879 EDSA, West Triangle, Quezon City 1104
Press Release: 05 July 2023
Never Again to Marcosian Disappearances
An appeal for writ of habeas corpus to surface Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo de Jesus
References: Beverly L. Longid, KATRIBU National Convenor, +63 920 919 1820
Eufemia Cullamat, SANDUGO Council Member, +63 926 549 4882
Kakay Tolentino, BAI National Coordinator, +63 970 313 6888
More than two months have passed since the abduction of indigenous rights advocates Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo de Jesus in Taytay, Rizal. We lost no time in searching for them, imploring various government agencies and military and police facilities throughout Luzon for their urgent assistance. And yet, still no trace of Dexter or Bazoo.
At every stop, we heard the same denials, faced the same dead ends. “They’re not here.” “We have no idea where they can be.” And also: “You can’t search our premises.” We cannot accept this state of affairs, not when the lives of two activists and friends are at stake. Either our government is dishonest about its knowledge, or it is incapable of any substantial action.
The former is more plausible, for we refuse to accept that our government is as powerless and clueless as it claims to be. The opposite is true: the government is the only entity which has the motive, means, and opportunity to enforce the disappearance of Dexter and Bazoo.
Fact: The government has massive resources at its disposal, including more than P9 billion in confidential and intelligence funds, and the organizational breadth of the NTF-ELCAC, a colossal inter-agency body led by both the President and Vice President themselves. Far from being powerless, the government’s power and resources are largely consolidated and controlled by the executive branch. The government brandishes the means.
Fact: The government is actively promoting the capture of Dexter Capuyan, dead or alive. The PNP and AFP are actively spreading disinformation on Capuyan, calling him a terrorist, a fugitive, a murderer. Most vocal in these demonizing efforts is SMNI, whose show co-anchored by NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy bluntly claims: “Dexter Capuyan, matagal ng [sic] NPA lider sa Cordillera.” A document circulated by the DND and DILG, which offers substantial rewards for the capture of 81 top “communist terrorist group personalities,” names Capuyan among the wanted, with a bounty of P1.85 million on his head. The government has communicated a clear motive.
Fact: In recent years, the government has stepped up its strategies of harassment and violence against activists. In 2021, the Bloody Sunday raids perpetrated by the government across the Southern Tagalog region resulted in the deaths of nine activists and the arrest of six more. Majority of these murders and arrests were carried out in Rizal province. Earlier this year, two activists were abducted in Mindoro, only to be located a month later, detained without clear charges, in Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal. In the case of Dexter and Bazoo, eyewitness reports recount that the two were accosted near a Taytay mall by men who introduced themselves as members of the PNP CIDG. The government has demonstrated the power to create opportunity.
In this light, it is clear to us that the government is not incapable of action; rather, it is unwilling to do so. Thus, we are compelled to request for a writ of habeas corpus in aid of surfacing Dexter and Bazoo.
We are cognizant of the significance of the writ of habeas corpus: the conditions for its suspension were clarified in the phrasing of the 1987 Constitution as a response to the grave abuses committed by the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Today, under the reign of his son, we place–with equal measures of hope and caution–our trust in the constitutional protections which favor the sanctity of human rights. May the writ help turn the tide against the abuse of unchecked power. May missing activists like Dexter and Bazoo be reunited with their families, and with the communities they wholeheartedly choose to serve.
Surface Dexter! Surface Bazoo! #
Signed Organizations:
Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas
Sandugo Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination
Bai Indigenous Women’s Network
Cordillera Human Rights Alliance
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publi...@karapatan.org
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.