Militants protest abduction of activist pastor in Laguna

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Monday held a protest action at the National Council of Churches of the Philippines along EDSA to press for the release of activist Pastor Verleen Guererro who was abducted last Sunday in Biñan, Laguna.
 
Guerrero was with his wife and three kids when he was abducted at around 5:00 pm in front of the Seven Star Gas Station in Casile Road, Bgy. Malaban, Biñan, Laguna. He was forcibly taken by still undetermined number of armed men who fled on two white L300 vans without plate numbers.
 
The victim is a pastor with the United Church of Christ of the Philippines and was formerly the secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog chapter. He is also the secretary general of the church group Kasimbayan.
 
Bayan suspects state security forces to be behind the abduction of Guererro. The group has noted a rise in the cases of enforced disappearances during the year.
 
Recent victims of abduction include former political prisoner Lusia Dominado and Nilo Arado, Bayan chair of Panay as well as Jonas Burgos of Bulacan. Two poll watchers of the partylist group Kabataan were also abducted then found dead in Camarines Norte. 
 
In the case of Burgos, the plate number of the vehicle used in the abduction was traced to a military camp in Bulacan.
 
“Abductions and enforced disappearances are becoming more frequent. We hold the Arroyo regime responsible for this latest crime. The administration has not reigned in the military despite condemnation by the international community. The perpetrators must surface Pastor Guererro immediately,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
 
“Responsibility for every activist abducted or killed lies squarely with the Arroyo regime. Credible bodies have established the patterns of killings and abductions which all show the involvement of the military. Why is it that up to now, the Arroyo government has not done anything significant to stop the military?” Reyes said.
 
The recent abduction comes just days after the Philippines was reelected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The incident also happened on the day Arroyo left for New Zealand and Australia.
 
“Protests await Arroyo in Australia over her continued disregard for human rights,” Reyes said.