Elena Tijamo (Contributed Photo)
CEBU CITY, Philippines – An executive of a farmers’ group in Bantayan remains missing, five days after her alleged abduction was reported.
With this, groups around the country and in Cebu renewed their calls for her immediate release as they seek assistance from experts to locate her.
READ MORE: Farmer group coordinator taken away by armed men in Cebu — progressive groups
The Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) announced that they have formally lodged a report before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to help them find Elena Tijamo.
Tijamo, FARDEC’s Sustainable Agriculture Program coordinator, was first reported to have been taken away from her house in Barangay Kampingganon in Bantayan town, Cebu last June 13, 2020.
But in a statement sent to members of the media, Fardec said they still have no knowledge of her whereabouts five days after.
“Five days after she was forcibly taken from her home on the evening of June 13, 2020 our program coordinator Elena “Lina” Tijamo’s whereabouts are still unknown,” Patrick Torres, executive director of Fardec in Central Visayas, was quoted on saying.
“Since that night, family members receive calls and texts from her saying she is “okay” and will come home but all news and social media posts regarding her abduction and disappearance have to be removed first,” Torres said.
As a result, Fardec, together with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Central Visayas (Bayan-Central Visayas) and human rights group Karapatan, are asking help from authorities and the public in their efforts to locate Tijamo.
“We are asking our law enforcement agencies and anyone who can assist to help us as we exhaust all measures to bring Lina back to her family,” added Torres.
Police in Bantayan, a first-class municipality located 142 kilometers northwest of Cebu City, was instructed to investigate Tijamo’s kidnapping.
READ MORE: FARDEC exec’s ‘alleged abduction’; in Bantayan probed
Bayan-Central Visayas and Karapatan, on the other hand, also expressed alarm on Tijamo’s continued disappearance. Both groups said she was not involved in anything unlawful, and requested the government to assist them in surfacing her.
“We assert that Lina had not committed any crimes. We once again call on the police and the government to assist in our call to surface her,” John Ruiz, Bayan-Central Visayas coordinator, said. / bmjo