Today, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Tanggol Magsasaka observe the International Day of the Disappeared, standing united in mourning and resistance alongside the families searching for justice and answers. This day of observance is not just for remembrance, it is a demand for truth and accountability under a government that continues to allow the disappearance of its citizens as a weapon of fear and repression.

Under Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s presidency, a startling wave of enforced disappearances has emerged, turning into one of the fastest-rising human rights crises in recent memory. As of this day, fifteen individuals remain missing after being abducted under his administration. Some of them are Elgene Mungcal, Ma. Elena Pampoza, Ariel Badiang, Renel delos Santos, Denald Laloy Mialen, Lyn Grace Martullinas, Dexter Capuyan, Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus, Deah Lopez, Lee Sudario, and Norman Ortiz. Each of these names embodies a life disrupted and a family left in agony

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka recall the abduction of Elgene Mungcal and Ma. Elena Pampoza occurred just three days after the inauguration of Marcos Jr., signaling an ominous beginning to a regime marred by disappearance as a political tactic. The wave continued with the disappearance of NDFP Consultant Ariel Badiang in Bukidnon, and the abduction of Renel delos Santos, Denald Mialen, and Lyn Grace Martullinas in Negros Occidental, among others.

Also missing are Cordilleran activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, abducted in Rizal, as well as peasant organizer Deah Lopez and farmers Norman Ortiz and Lee Sudario, all vanishing in 2023. In the same year, two more disappearances occurred: fisherfolk organizer Mariano Jolongbayan and peasant organizer Mar Silos. Early 2024 saw the abduction of former campus journalist and trade unionist Nelson Bautista, among others. Continuing the pattern, in August 2024, trade union organizer William Lariosa, former political prisoner Rowena Dasig, James Jazmines and Felix Salavierra were last seen before vanishing—latest victims in an expanding list of desaparecidos.

These disappearances represent more than individual tragedies—they are a coordinated tool of repression, wielded to stifle dissent and weaken advocacy movements among farmers, environmental defenders, youth organizers, and communities. The impunity with which these acts occur, despite the existence of the 2012 Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act (RA 10353), lays bare the hollow façade of accountability; even when petitions for protective writs are made, they are consistently denied or ignored.

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka call on the Marcos Jr. government to surface the missing and account for their whereabouts without delay. The state must fully open all detention facilities, allow Commission on Human Rights (CHR) investigations, and genuinely comply with the mandates of RA 10353.

Today, the names of those who are still missing—Elgene Mungcal, Ma. Elena Pampoza, Ariel Badiang, Renel delos Santos, Denald Laloy Mialen, Lyn Grace Martullinas, Dexter Capuyan, Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus, Deah Lopez, Lee Sudario, and Norman Ortiz—must not fade into silence. Their absence is a damning testament to state terror.

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka also honor past desaparecidos—from Jonas Burgos to Nilo Arado and others. Their struggle endures through us. We stand unwavering: until every disappeared farmer, activist, and defender is surfaced, until justice is served, and until enforced disappearance ceases to be the weapon of the state, we will not falter. ###