[EDITORIAL] Disappeared but Never Forgotten
On April 28, 2023, two University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) alumni and Indigenous People’s (IP) rights activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” De Jesus were last seen alive in Taytay, Rizal. They were then abducted by those who identified themselves as members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP). A year later, the calls to surface Dexter and Bazoo alive continue.
However, this case paints a bigger picture of human rights violations committed in the Philippines, particularly for victims of enforced disappearances or desaparecidos.
The year-long call to surface Dexter and Bazoo was not only for their safe return but to also assert justice for everyone else who has been unjustly attacked. The Baguio leg of the 40th People’s Cordillera Day was not only a celebration of the Cordilleran struggle, but also a remembrance of the two activists.
Throughout their lives, Dexter and Bazoo chose to wholeheartedly serve the people which started back when they were students in UPB. Dexter served as the editor-in-chief of UPB Outcrop from 1985 to 1986. A Bontoc-Ibaloi-Kankanaey, he eventually became an activist and a community organizer in the Cordilleras, fighting for the rights of indigenous communities.
Bazoo, on the other hand, was the chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Students and the UP Baguio Council of Leaders during his time in the university. He later worked as an information and networking officer for the Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, a non-governmental organization that fights for IP rights in the country. He was also dedicated to this cause, particularly for the Cordilleras, according to his mother in an episode of Tangguyob Podcast’s #FreedomFridays.
But like many other activists, both of them have faced attacks for their works. Capuyan experienced accusations and attacks including being on the wanted list released by the Department of National Defense and Department of Interior and Local Government; there, authorities also offered a P1.85 million bounty for his arrest. He has also been labeled as a leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army in Ilocos and Cordillera. Meanwhile, De Jesus had pending charges in Ifugao and other areas in the Cordillera and Northern Luzon according to an October 2023 Bulatlat article.
Then, by last year, Dexter and Bazoo became the seventh and eighth victims of enforced disappearances under the Marcos Jr. administration. Their rights such as the right to due process have been constantly violated even after the day they were abducted.
The current reality remains extremely harsh to activists like them. Activists have continued experiencing a multitude of attacks, especially from the state, like red-tagging and trumped-up charges. These attacks were done to create a chilling effect and silence dissent. Injustices multiply in the Philippines while the state of human rights erodes as a result. Yet, amidst the attacks, the people’s fiery determination to defend the defenders persists.
Although Dexter and Bazoo have not yet surfaced, the causes they have fought for were amplified in the face of fear and intimidation. Inside and outside of UP Baguio, people have gathered to protest to campaign for the surfacing and justice for the two activists.
Despite passing the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Act in 2012, there are still more desaparecidos across different administrations besides Capuyan and De Jesus that need to be surfaced. One of them is UPB alumni and activist James Balao who was also the former editor-in-chief of UPB Outcrop and a founding member of the Cordillera’s People Alliance. Balao has been missing for almost 16 years after he was abducted by armed men who identified themselves as police in Tomay, La Trinidad, Benguet on September 17, 2008.
As the calls become louder, collective action is needed more than ever to campaign for desaparecidos and call out the injustices happening all over the Philippines. Reality seems grim, and justice remains elusive for desaparecidos and their loved ones. Still, it is time for everyone to hold the government and state forces who dare to stifle and violate people’s human rights accountable. The fight is not only for their safe return but for their justice as well.
Now, may the hope of finding all desaparecidos like Dexter and Bazoo and bringing them home to their families and to justice never cease. May everyone also fight for the future when activists are no longer considered terrorists and human rights are in a genuinely better state.
