NOT GIVING UP | Forty days after activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus went missing in Taytay, Rizal, their families and supporters gather in front of the headquarters
of the military’s Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac City on Wednesday, July 6, 2023, hoping to find out if they are in held in the camp. (Photo courtesy of the Surface Dexter and Bazoo Movement)
MANILA, Philippines — The families of missing activists Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus and Dexter Capuyan filed two separate petitions for a writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
A writ of habeas corpus is a remedy that orders a government official or agency to present in court a person suspected of being illegally detained.
In the case of the two activists, who have been reported missing since April 28, the petitioners are asking the Court of Appeals to direct its order to the three officials — Gen. Andres Centino, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP); and Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detention Group (CIDG).
De Jesus, an information officer of the Philippine Task Force on Indigenous Peoples Rights, and Capuyan, a former activist alleged by the AFP to be a leader of the New People’s Army, were allegedly illegally taken by uniformed personnel.
According to the petition, relatives and friends of the missing activists search for them and learned from informants that the two were abducted by armed men who claimed to have been personnel of the CIDG.
They also asked the CA to issue an order for the immediate release of both activists.
The appellants explained that they filed the petitions to the CA instead of a regional trial court due to the “number and the areas of responsibility of respondents as well as their subordinates and agents, who may have custody of Bazoo [and Dexter] in Southern Tagalog and elsewhere.”
In a statement, Katribu, an alliance of indigenous peoples and organizations, criticized the military and police for their inaction on the missing activists.
“We lost no time in searching for them, imploring various government agencies and military and police facilities throughout Luzon for their urgent assistance. And yet, still no trace of Dexter or Bazoo,” Katribu said.
“It is clear to us that the government is not incapable of action; rather, it is unwilling to do so. Thus, we are compelled to request for a writ of habeas corpus,” it added.
INQUIRER.net sought a comment from the AFP, PNP, and CIDG. They have not responded as of this writing.