Cordillera activist found safe after abduction, says group

Human rights defender Stephen “Steve” Tauli, 63, was found safe on August 21 after he was reportedly abducted by armed men in Tabuk City, Kalinga province the previous day. (Photo courtesy of Cordillera Peoples Alliance)

BAGUIO CITY—A human rights activist in Kalinga province was found safe on Sunday, August 21, after armed men abducted him, according to the human rights group Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA).

Stephen “Steve” Tauli, a member of the regional council of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), went missing on August 20 after five men mauled and forcibly took him along Ag-a Road near the CPA office in Tabuk City, according to the CPA.

The CHRA has yet to disclose where Tauli, 63, was found and who was responsible for his disappearance.

CPA spokesperson Sara Dekdeken condemned the abduction, saying it was “part of the systematic attack to invalidate CPA’s legitimate dissent against destructive projects in the region.”

Tauli was subjected to Red-tagging, surveillance, and harassment before he went missing, CPA said.

The CPA has been supporting Kalinga indigenous communities, which are opposing three dam projects along the Chico River and its tributaries, including the Upper Tabuk Hydropower Dam, Karayan Dam, and Saltan River Dam. INQ

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