40 Days Passed Families of Bazoo and Dexter, together with friends, colleagues, and different organizations from the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos, Central Luzon, and NCR, stormed the AFP’s Northern Luzon Command at Tarlac to pressure military forces to surface the two. Around a hundred protesters demanded to “Surface all, surface all desaparecidos!” and sounded bells to ring the alarm over attacks on human rights.
The program featured cultural presentations and #1000CranesForDexterAndBazoo, wherein a huge crane was presented to symbolize outpouring hope and the ‘wish’ for surfacing the two.
State intimidation against individuals who are critical of the government is alarming in Cordillera and Northern Luzon. Recent cases of red-tagging media and activists on national TV and intensifying active surveillance of progressive organization members bring about fear over possible abduction like the case of Dexter and Bazoo who went missing on April 28.
The two missing are graduates of University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB). Dexter served as the Editor-in-chief of UPB Outcrop during the mid-1980s, while Bazoo was a former regional coordinator of the National Union of Students of the Philippines and KABATAAN PL Cordillera until 2016. Both were active in campaigns for basic human rights, IP rights, students rights, and campaigns for justice and democracy; they committed their lives in continuing to serve the masses.
The Surface Dexter and Bazoo network reports on May 11, through a press conference, that the search team have confirmed the two were “abducted by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)” the night of April 28. “Knowing that the missing individuals were abducted by state operatives has made our appeal to surface them even more urgent,” the network stated, also urging CHR to conduct investigations on their whereabouts.
Several protest actions and prayer rallies were held in Baguio, Malolos, Camp Crame, and even in Italy, expressing worry over the increasing number of desaparecidos. Search teams have exhausted all means in finding their whereabouts.
As organizations, friends, and family tirelessly campaign to SurfaceAllDesaparecidos including Dexter and Bazoo, we desist from the unfounded fake news and baseless accusations of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) on this matter, clearly undeserving of its position on national television. We call on every government office to respect human rights and heed concerns on the matter and help surface these activists through resources they could offer.
