Enforced disappearances persist under Marcos Jr. Administration

By Emmalyn Liwag Kotte

Nearly two decades ago today, at around 1:30 pm, four unidentified armed

men and a woman approached Jonas Burgos who was then eating his lunch

at a shopping mall in Quezon City, Philippines, whisked him away and forced

him into a Toyota Revo with license plate TAB194.

Dyan Gumanao sharing her harrowing experience at a discussion organized by the Philippinenbüro in Cologne, Germany last April 9,2025 [Photo by Emmalyn Kotte]

Since then, nothing has been heard of on the whereabouts of Jonas, the son

of deceased press freedom fighter and publisher of English broadsheet,

Pahayagang Malaya, Jose Burgos Jr.

Reports say, the then 37-year-old agriculturist was teaching peasants about

organic farming techniques and helping them organize to own the lands they

till.

He was also a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan, the local

chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement

of the Philippines) in the province. 

His family consequently filed a case, and in March 2013, the Court of Appeals

declared Jonas' abduction a case of enforced disappearance, pointing to members of

the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as the perpetrators.

The AFP has vehemently denied any involvement in the case. To date, no one

has been held accountable for Jonas’ abduction and no murder case could be

filed because his body has not been found.  

As his family and friends mark the 18th anniversary of his disappearance

today, PPE delves into other cases of desaparecidos in the Philippines amidst

the bigger picture of the persistent culture of impunity under the administration

of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Enforced Disappearances continue under Marcos Jr.

Dyan Gumanao shared her own harrowing experience at a recent forum

organized by the Philippinenbüro in Cologne, Germany.

In January 2023, she and her husband, Armand Dayoha, were forcibly taken

by men who identified themselves as police officers at one of the busiest ports

in Cebu.

They were interrogated, psychologically tortured and coerced into signing

documents that falsely labeled them as surrenderees from the communist

rebel group, New People’s Army (NPA), she said.

Gumanao works at the Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc.

(CERNET), a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists

people's groups in the Visayas region with focus on food security.

She is also a volunteer coordinator of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers in Central

Visayas.

Dayoha is a labor rights organizer of Alyansa sa Mamumuo sa Sugbo (AMA

Sugbo) and coordinator of the Alliance of Health Workers in Cebu.

He also works as a program coordinator at Visayas Human Development Agency, Inc.

Gumanao believes she and her husband were lucky to be released after

several days in captivity, pointing out that many other abducted activists have

not been so fortunate.

“There are many who are still missing up to now,” she lamented, adding that

some of them reappeared only to face fabricated charges, while others were

worse off and found dead.

Gumanao recounted how, for instance, in 2020, human rights defender Elena

Tijamo, who had been forcibly disappeared from her home in Cebu, was later

found dead in a Metro Manila hospital, her body identified under a different

name.

Like other victims of enforced disappearance who later resurfaced, Gumanao

said she and Dayoha encounter many challenges when they stand for truth

and push for justice and accountability.

“When we sought the help of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation),

instead of helping us, we just received insensitive remarks. We were just

scolded,” she said, adding that the lack of support from government authorities

is very frustrating.  

Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, young environmental activists abducted in

Bataan on September 2, 2023, also face the same challenges when they ask

support from government authorities, said Gumanao.

Upon their release on September 15, Castro and Tamano recalled they were

taken by soldiers against their will.

Government authorities however presented them as “rebel returnees” and military officials denied having a hand in their abduction.  

Their application for government protection from further harassment was turned down by the Supreme court.

Such reported cases of political abductions send a chilling effect on the daily

life of many human rights defenders in the Philippines, said Gumanao.

The constant threat of abduction force activists to limit their movements and

avoid organizing freely in communities where their work is crucial, she said.

The psychological toll of living with the fear of being forcibly disappeared has

led to widespread self-censorship and anxiety among activists and their

families, she added.

Gumanao said they now avoid going out alone and cannot just go anytime

they want to grassroots communities and schools where their service is much

needed.

Dyan Gumanao at the Philippinenbüro in Cologne, Germany [Photo by Emmalyn Kotte]

They experience constant trauma.

"It triggers whenever we receive news of other fellow activists who go missing,” she said.  

Gumanao decried that the government is trying to silence them and other

human rights defenders and make them stop doing their work.

But they would not budge and continue pushing forward.

“We try our best to continue,” she said, adding that the support they receive from local and international human rights networks is crucial for them to be able to overcome the challenges they face.

Inspite of the passage of the Involuntary Disappearance Act in 2012, forced

abductions have continued to rise in the Philippines.

Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) reported at least 61 cases of enforced disappearances among environmental human rights defenders from

June 30, 2016 to November 30, 2024, mainly affecting marginalized rural

communities, small farmers and indigenous peoples.

According to human rights organization Karapatan, there have been at least

14 cases of enforced disappearances during the Marcos Jr. administration

between July 2022 and December 2024. 

Meanwhile, Jonas’ mother Edita Burgos, now vice chairperson of Karapatan, has

become a spokesperson of many other families of the disappeared.

Over the years, she has constantly reminded the Philippine government that the

Supreme Court has issued a writ of habeas corpus in 2007 in connection with the

petition she filed against military officials and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

She insists that the AFP is accountable for the disappearance of her son and

points out that Marcos Jr. has a duty to uncover what happened to him and other

victims of forced disappearances.

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