MANILA — The Families of Desaparecidos for Justice
(DESAPARECIDOS) condemned the disappearance of Jonas
Joseph Burgos and Melisa Reyes, on April 28, in Quezon
City.
Burgos, or Jay-Jay, 38, son of press freedom icon Jose
Joe Burgos Jr., failed to come home to his family in
Tandang Sora, Quezon City on April 28. His anxious
family tried to contact him through his cellphone the
whole night, but it was only at 10:46 AM the next day
that they received messages from him which did not
make any sense. His family was still able to talk to
him on the phone but his voice sounded drowsy and his
words did not make sense as if he were drugged.
It was learned that Melisa Reyes, and a still to be
identified male companion of Jayjay also failed to
come home on the evening of April 28.
Burgos had been giving agri technology trainings to
members of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB),
a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Pilipinas.
This is a brazen act which only state security forces
will have the motive and gall to carry out. Its
ironic that it happened to a member of the Burgos
family that had opposed and survived Martial Law and
still continues to defend civil rights and press
freedom, said Ghay Portajada, spokesperson of
Desaparecidos.
Portajada also noted that Jay-jays disappearance
happened, not in a remote village in the countrysides,
but here in Quezon City where there is much presence
of both police and military elements.
We call on the responsible elements of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines to surface Jay-jay and his
companions. We dare the Arroyo administration to
solve this disappearance, and use all possible
resources and technologies to locate Jay-jay, whose
phone is still active and could actually be tracked,
said Portajada. We pray that Jay-jay and his
companions will be surfaced alive, just like urban
poor leader Lourdes Nay Ude Rubrico, who was
abducted, detained and released by intelligence agents
for one week at the Fernando Basa Air Base in Lipa
City, Batangas.##
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