2 ‘missing’ activists surface in Bulacan

‘Photos presented to the media on Friday by Capt. Carlito Buco Jr. of the Bataan Provincial Police Office show activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano (seated) in government custody. Their reported abduction on Sept. 2 is now being dismissed by security officials as a hoax. The one seated on the left is Tamano being comforted by her parents, Buco said.

MANILA, Philippines — The two young women said to be involved in environmental campaigns around Manila Bay who were reported missing have surfaced in Bulacan, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said on Friday.

Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro reportedly surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 70th Infantry Battalion in Doña Remedios Trinidad town on September 12. 

National Security Adviser Jonathan Malaya said that the Commission on Human Rights itself talked to Tamano and Castro, who are both in good health.

Tamano and Castro have also been reunited with their parents, Malaya said.

“This is not an abduction, this is an elaborate hoax and scam,” Malaya said in a press conference.

Malaya made the response after rights watchdog Karapatan said that they Tamano and Castro were abducted by armed men in Orion, Bataan on September 2.

Tamano, 22, works as coordinator of the Church-Community Partnership for the program “Turn the Tide Now,” while Castro, 21, serves as a community volunteer for AKAP Ka Manila Bay, a group opposing reclamation projects on Manila Bay.

Both studied at the Bulacan State University in the City of Malolos in Bulacan.

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