On the first year of disappearance of Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, the Families of the Disappeared for Justice (Desaparecidos) joins Dexter and Bazoo’s families in their continuing search for their loved ones. As we have tirelessly done with our own missing kin, we are one with them in asking: Where is Dexter? Where is Bazoo? Surface them now!
We demand that the Marcos Jr. administration and its state security forces surface Dexter and Bazoo. One year is too long for the victims of enforced disappearance to be held incommunicado, away from their loved ones, friends and colleagues, denied of liberty and movement, stripped off of their rights and subjected to the worst forms of torture.
One year should have been enough for the authorities to investigate, search for them, make use of available legal remedies, and hold the perpetrators accountable. However, no investigation has been conducted to shed light on their disappearance. On top of that, the court has denied motions from Dexter and Bazoo’s families for a writ of amparo. As families, friends, and colleagues continue to search, State security forces continue to enjoy impunity.
We mark one year since they went missing and yet, we continue to witness and respond to reports of abductions and enforced disappearance. Dexter and Bazoo are among the 11 victims of enforced disappearance under Marcos Jr. A number of activists and rights defenders managed to survive their abduction, because their families, friends and colleagues never stopped searching for them until they were surfaced.
We deplore the Marcos Jr. regime’s claims that human rights in the country are improving. Marcos Jr. is treading the same path as the Marcos Sr. dictatorship, which had stolen thousands of lives under its rule. This includes the more than 800 documented victims of enforced disappearances who have not been found.
We want a society free from abduction and enforced disappearances, a country with a genuinely improving human rights situation. This cannot be realized under the Marcos Jr. administration with its policy of silencing dissent through the use of the worst forms of human rights violations, including enforced disappearance.
Beyond commemoration, we call for continued vigilance. We demand that Dexter, Bazoo, and all desaparecidos be surfaced. No matter how long it takes, we shall continue to demand truth, justice and accountability! #