Dear colleagues,
We are circulating this sign-on campaign to surface James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr., who were abducted in Tabaco City, Albay in August 2024.
Jazmines and Salaveria are among the 15 desaparecidos abducted by suspected State agents under the Marcos Jr. administration, as of August 2024. Please support the call and campaign to surface Jazmines, Salaveria and all desaparecidos.
Karapatan Public Information Desk
Petition to Surface James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr.
We are the families of James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr, both of whom are family men, community and environmental activists, cycling friends and who have both become victims of enforced disappearances – James on 23 August and Felix on 28 August in 2024.
We have started this campaign to demand that the Philippines authorities investigate their abductions, return them both safely to us, and bring those responsible for their disappearances to justice.
James attended Felix’s 66th birthday dinner with friends at a restaurant in Tabaco City, Albay, on 23 August 2024. After the celebration, James left on his bicycle and has not been seen since. Five days later, and after he had reported that James had gone missing, Felix was abducted. According to eyewitnesses, he was shoved into a silver van by men in plain clothes and later a group of uniformed policemen entered his home and removed personal belongings, including his cell phone and laptop.
James is a 1978 graduate of the Philippine Science High School and a former BS Psychology student of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He served as information officer of the League of Filipino Students from 1977 to the early 1980s. He later became the executive director of the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center, a cultural institution, from 1984 to 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he served as information officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno labor center. Up to the mid-2000s, he was the information technology (IT) consultant of a development NGO and has been working freelance in the IT sector since then. He was known in his community as quiet and unassuming, but also a frequent biker.
Salaveria, a 1976 graduate of San Beda High School and a former Sociology major at the University of the East in Manila, is a founding member and former president of Cycling Advocates (CYCAD), a group that promotes biking as a low-cost, healthy and non-polluting form of transportation. He is also a founding member of Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa mga Katutubo (Tabak) and Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (Katribu), groups advocating for indigenous people’s rights. He was likewise a member of the staff of the now defunct Ethnic Studies and Development Center’s Minority Rights Advocacy Program.
In Bgy. Cobo,Tabaco City, Salaveria became known as an avid eco-waste management advocate who encouraged the proper disposal of waste. He coordinated with other groups based in Tabaco for alternative ways of transporting waste for conversion to compost for permaculture, and even donated a bike for this purpose. In addition to his waste disposal
advocacy, he also maintained a small community garden in his residence. He was well-liked in his community both for his advocacies and for being a kind and helpful neighbor.
Both James, 63, and Felix, 66, are seniors and suffer poor health. We are appealing to the authorities who are detaining our loved ones to surface them immediately. Our families are in agony, desperate to know that James and Felix are safe and healthy, and we want to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected. We call on the authorities to release all victims of enforced disappearances and return them unharmed to their families.
Please support our campaign to surface James and Felix and all other victims of enforced disappearances in the Philippines by signing this petition. The petition will be presented to the president of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, PNP Chief and AFP Chief.
If you wish to make a financial contributions to support our actions to find James and Felix you may donate by sending an email to surface.felixsalaveria@gmail.com and surface.jamesjazmines@gmail.com