CHR finds ‘no human rights violation’ in NGO worker Elena Tijamo’s abduction

CEBU, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Central Visayas was unable to find evidence of human rights violation in the abduction four years ago of development worker Elena Tijamo.

Tijamo, a 58-year-old program coordinator of the Farmers Development Center Central Visayas (FARDEC), was taken from her home in Bantayan Island, Cebu, on the evening of June 13, 2020. 

According to family members who were at the scene when the incident happened, unidentified men pointed guns at Tijamo and her sister before taking the former away. A year later, Tijamo’s corpse was found in a Mandaluyong hospital.

“There was an allegation of abduction and [the family] suspected that it was perpetrated by the government, particularly the police or the military. We did try to establish that fact but there was difficulty on the part of the CHR,” CHR Central Visayas Regional Director Arvin Odron told Rappler on Thursday, August 29.

According to Odron, any affront to the human rights of a person which is perpetrated by the government, state actors or by private individuals (if such private acts were tolerated by the government) constitutes a human rights violation.

Despite CHR investigators’ separate probe from the police’s investigation, Ordon said the human rights agency failed to gather sufficient evidence to link the abduction to state enforcers, and the perpetrators have yet to be identified.

“Considering that we failed to establish the link of the alleged abduction, we closed our investigation with the government. That’s why we closed our investigation without finding of human rights violation,” the regional director said.

“[Law enforcement] will be establishing the criminal liability of the perpetrator, but on the part of the CHR, we want to establish first whether the disappearance is in a form of human rights violation,” Odron added.

‘Not satisfied’

When asked how she felt about the result of CHR’s investigation, Tijamo’s daughter, Annika, told Rappler that it was anger rooted from disappointment.

Annika said, “It has been [four] years since that happened and that was the result of their findings? No human rights violations?”   

Tijamo’s daughter, who was still a minor the night her mother was abducted, stressed that her family was not satisfied with the results of the investigation, especially after learning that it was based on her affidavit and the text messages between her and her mother. 

In 2020, family members received a text message from Tijamo’s mobile number which stated that the development worker would be allowed to return home after 24 hours. She never got back.

On Thursday morning, Annika joined members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Cebu Chapter, Karapatan Central Visayas, and FARDEC in a rally held in front of the CHR Central Visayas Regional Office in Cebu City.

Reinvestigate

In a statement posted on Facebook, rights group Karapatan Central Visayas denounced the results of the CHR’s probe.

“Regrettably, the CHR inquiry into this matter placed greater attention on the dubious instances when Elena Tijamo made phone calls and sent messages to her family without disclosing the details of her abduction and concealment of her location. This detracted from the urgency of the situation and the need for transparency in handling cases of missing persons,” the group said.

“As we mark the third death anniversary of Elena Tijamo, we reflect not only on her tragic loss but also on the disturbing rise in abductions and enforced disappearances targeting activists, development workers, and defenders of the environment and human rights,” Karapatan said.

The rights groups demanded a reinvestigation into Elena Tijamo’s case. Annika told Rappler that she was informed by CHR Central Visayas office that they would look into reopening the case. 

If the new probe yields the same results, the young Tijamo said, they would ask the CHR’s national office to act on the matter. – Rappler.com