Last Seen:

April 28, 2007

Quezon City

On April 28, 2007, Jonas Joseph Burgos failed to arrive home, and he was somewhere in EVER GOTESCO on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. It was found out later that Burgos, who was with his companion Melissa Reyes and an unnamed person, could no longer be located.  Burgos had promised to arrive at his family's place at around 6 o'clock in the evening. Although his family kept sending text messages to his mobile phone to ask his whereabouts all through the night, the family received a message from his mobile at around 10:46 am on the following morning on April 29 saying "Sensya na, ligo lang" (I'm sorry, was just taking a bath).

The exchange of text messages continued with the victim's family trying to find out about his condition, but the supposed reply from the victim did not make any sense. And when his family called him up, though they were able to speak with him, his voice sounded like he was drugged, and his answers were not clear. His family continued on checking on him through SMS messages and by calling his mobile phone occasionally. His phone, however, was off from that whole night until the following morning, April 30.

The family of Burgos' companion Reyes has likewise reported that she also failed to come home since the evening of April 28.

At the time of the incident, Burgos, who is a graduate of agriculture from the Benguet State University, had been giving agricultural technology training for members of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), a chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) for the past nine years. The AMB and KMP are peasant organizations lobbying for the solution of agrarian issues in Central Luzon. Prior to Burgos' disappearance, several leaders and members of the AMB have already been victims of either killings or abductions allegedly committed by security forces in the past.

Burgos is the son of the late Jose "Joe" Burgos Jr., former publisher and editor of the We Forum and Malaya newspapers. The late elder Burgos' publications are the pioneering alternative press during the Marcos regime. The elder Burgos was also an awarded journalist, a widely known civil libertarian, and a defender of press freedom until he died in 2003.  As of May 5, various sources reported about the abduction of Burgos and conveyed the disappointments of his family about the delay in the process of police investigation into the disappearance of the victim. The victim's brother, Jose Luis "JL" Burgos, told the media that they have yet received any information on the progress of the investigation and the victim's whereabouts from the authorities. The clue that the police have had so far is the license plate number of the car that was used to take the victims away.  According to the victim's mother, Edith Burgos, they have received further information from several witnesses of her son's abduction. Edith claimed to have received a phone call from a man who told her that she should speak to a security guard at another shopping mall where her son was also seen. There has not been made substantial progress so far regarding the victim's whereabouts.

As of this writing, the victims' whereabouts are still unknown.

details about their circumstances.