KARAPATAN to PNP: Focus on surfacing Salaveria, Jazmines
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS STATEMENT
26 September 2024
References: Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, 0917-3162831
Karapatan Public Information Desk, 0918-9790580
KARAPATAN to PNP: Focus on surfacing Salaveria, Jazmines
KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay criticized Albay Provincial Philippine National Police Director Col. Julius Añonuevo, who, in media interviews, harped on an ID card allegedly found in the house of missing activist Felix Salaveria Jr., instead of providing information on the progress of police investigations on the disappearance of Salaveria and another activist who went missing five days before him.
The missing activists, James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr., were abducted in Tabaco, Albay on August 23 and 28, 2024, respectively. Their families were able to obtain copies of CCTV footages showing Salaveria being forced into a van in broad daylight by at least two men near his house in Barangay Cobo in Tabaco.
Palabay said, “No one else can provide answers to Añonuevo’s questions about the ID except Salaveria himself and he is missing. That is why Colonel Añonuevo should squarely address the issue of Jazmines and Salaveria’s abductions and stop diverting the issue.”
“On the other hand,” said Palabay, “we know of several instances where the police planted fake ID cards on arrested activists. This happened to Amelia Pond, Ernesto Jude Rimando, Corazon Agovida and Elena Tijamo. In the case of Agovida,” added Palabay, “the picture on the bogus ID was lifted from her Facebook profile.”
“Abductions and enforced disappearances are grave crimes that merit serious investigation by the police no matter who the victim is,” stressed Palabay. “The police should do their job with a sense of urgency instead of twiddling their thumbs on non-issues.”
“Otherwise, we would be inclined to believe that all these delays and diversions are meant to derail a serious investigation and protect the abductors,” Palabay concluded.
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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.