In search of Jonas Burgos. From the docu, The terror of the unhead voiceFormer President Benigno Aquino III disappointed them. They are now pinning their hopes on what seemed years ago as the most unlikely person to be on their side: President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances or AFAD is requesting for a dialogue with the new president on the issue of forced disappearances.
Forced disappearance is an aberration because it defies the natural cycle of life which begins with birth and ends with death. Vanishing from the face of the earth is not normal.
But that’s what happened to many individuals in this world and in the Philippines the well-known names among them are peasant organizer Jonas Burgos, and UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno.
Edith Burgos: today’s Mater DolorosaYesterday, while many joined the mother of OFW Mary Jane Veloso in prayers , another mother continues the agonizing search for her son.
Edith Burgos, mother of missing farmer/activist Jonas Burgos, together with relatives of persons who have disappeared, went to the Aquino house in Times St., Quezon city to deliver a letter to President Aquino on the on the 8th anniversary of the abduction of Jonas Burgos.
They were blocked by about 50 policemen.
The letter that Edith Burgos was carrying was an appeal to Aquino “to end this suffering of the family of not knowing the truth about what happened to Jonas.”
On April 28, 2007, past noon, Jonas Burgos was at Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City waiting for friends. Before his friends came three military agents, one was a woman, approached him and forcibly brought him out to a waiting vehicle. Jonas was never seen after that.
Life’s normal cycle starts with birth and ends with death. To just disappear violates life’s natural cycle.
The disappearance of Jonas and many other Filipinos is an assault to humanity and an outrage especially in a democratic country like the Philippines.
In her letter Edith gave the President an update of Jonas’s case and appealed for him to order the military to return Jonas to them “at whatever state he is in.”
There are two letters seeking to two powerful persons who will be making their historic meeting today.
One is from the longest-held political prisoner in the country Juanito Itaas, suspect in the killing of Col. James Rowe, to visiting U.S. President Barack Obama.
The other one is from Edith Burgos, mother of Jonas Burgos, who has been missing for seven years, to President Aquino.
Rowe, a member of the elite Green Beret in the Vietnam, was the chief of the Army Division of the Joint RP-US Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG) when he was ambushed and killed on April 21, 1989 in Quezon while he was on his way to his office. His driver, Joaquin Vinuya, survived the ambush.
Yesterday, April 28, marked the 6th year that farmer-activist Jonas Burgos disappeared.
The Burgos family observed the day with renewed hope after new information surfaced early this month which strengthen the accusation that the military was behind the abduction of Jonas.
The information, which apparently came from the files of the military, included a picture of Jonas looking dazed with a large bandana around his neck, which was probably used to blindfold him.
Still searching for her missing sonEdith Burgos, wife of press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr. and mother of Jonas Burgos, who was never seen since he was abducted by persons suspected to be members of the military on April 28, 2007, issued a statement yesterday in reaction to President Aquino’s remark dismissing criticisms about the dismal human rights records of his administration as leftist propaganda.
Burgos statement:
“My son, Jonas, is still missing as so many others are. He was forcibly abducted during the Gloria Arroyo administration, and until now we have yet to get a categorical statement from authorities on the fate of my son. And my family had admittedly become vocal in our plea that military produce my Jonas.
“To call this propaganda and to label it leftist is the height of insensitivity to a mother who continues to search for his missing son. I stand before the Lord, who is truth Himself, in witness of this truth.
“Now, when you are looking for a missing loved one, is it justified to label you as leftist? Unless the definition has been changed, I would not subscribe to what has been officially said by Malacanang. To seek justice and to right a wrong done to families who have been victims of enforced disappearances, will that be considered a leftist act?
Edith Burgos: today's Mater DolorosaOn April 28, 2007, past noon, Jonas Burgos was at Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City waiting for friends. Before his friends came three military agents, one was a woman, approached him and forcibly brought him out to a waiting vehicle. Jonas was never seen after that.
Jonas’ mother, Edita, wife of press freedom fighter Jose Burgos, Jr. (founder of Malaya) issued the following statement yesterday:
“April 28, 2012 marks the fifth year of the disappearance of my son, Jonas Burgos. Jonas’ family commemorates this day by looking back at the five years of search. We recall how we have exhausted every possible peaceful means available to us within the limitations of resources and information.
“We have encountered numerous attempts at individual and institutional cover up and confronted these with more determination to uncover the truth. The denials, the stone-walling, the labeling, all the lies and even the indifference have only encouraged us to pray some more and to look at others with the eyes of a Christian heart. Undeterred, our search must go on.
“At every turn of the uphill path of the search, something and someone would somehow turn out to be His Providence supplying what was needed for the moment. The particular grace would always be on time… just enough, and would, in spite of the pain and seeming helplessness… fuel a renewed vigor to search for the lost son, the lost brother, the lost husband, the lost father.
Mrs B posterThere’s nothing that a mother would do for her child. No distance too far to travel, no obstacle too high to hurdle.
It has been almost three years since Edith Burgos, wife of the late Jose Burgos, Jr, founder of Malaya and regarded as a press freedom icon, last saw her son, Jonas.
On April 28, 2007, Jonas, father of an 18-month old girl, was abducted by unidentified men and a woman while having lunch at the Hapag Kainan restaurant in Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City. He was dragged into a waiting van and he has been missing since then.
Jonas is described in new reports as “activist-farmer”. Probably because at the time he was abducted, he was a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
Jonas studied agriculture at Benguet State University. He practiced organic farming in the Burgos family farm in Bulacan and shared his knowledge of it with other farmers.
Since the abduction almost three years ago, the Burgos family, headed by Edith Burgos has been searching relentlessly for Jonas. Mrs. Burgos has taken all the avenues — courts, police, military, morgues, government agencies including the Office of the President, international organizations and the streets — to look for her son.
