Last Seen:

September 29, 2018

Quezon City.
On September 29, 2018, at 2:00 a.m., Misael "Bandam" Estillore, a scavenger, married to Catherine Estillore, and resident of #3 West Riverside Street, Barangay Damayan, San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, was allegedly abducted by "Dudut", an alleged police asset, and three unidentified men along Alhambra Street, Barangay Damayan, San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City.

 

Catherine narrated that because she works as a street sweeper in their barangay, she usually wakes up very early each day. On the day her husband went missing, before 2:00 a.m., she told him that she would just go out to buy coffee and cigarettes. Then, she returned home and prepared coffee for her and her husband.

She then heard a man and a boy talking outside their house. The man, who turned out to be Dudut, asked the boy where the house of the scavenger was. Dudut was wearing a white sando and basketball shorts. He had a towel that he used to cover his face. The boy asked Dudut if he was referring to "Boss Bandam" and then pointed to the couple's house. Catherine asked Dudut what he needed from her husband. Misael hurriedly dressed up.

Catherine did not trust Dudut because it is known in their community that he is a police asset. Dudut had also been jailed for two years for drug-related charges. She did not want her husband to go with Dudut, but Misael did not listen to her. Catherine decided to follow them as they walked along the street. Misael reprimanded Catherine and told her not to follow them. He added that they have a "transaction" somewhere far and that he will return the next day. He also told her that they will earn big money. Dudut and Misael walked so fast that Catherine was not able to keep up with them.

The following day, Catherine decided to go to the barangay to report what happened. She asked to view the CCTV footage, as it might have captured what happened to Misael. True enough, she saw footage of her husband and Dudut walking along Alhambra Street. Dudut had an arm over Misael's shoulder. They then approached a black car parked on the street. Two men alighted from the car. The driver remained inside the car. The two men forced him into the car, and when he tried to resist, they punched him multiple times until they were able to push him into the car. The car's plate number was not visible in the footage.  Catherine saw another footage, which was taken a few minutes before Lacap went to their house. The footage was that of the black car where Misael was later forced. The footage showed that the black car stopped along a street and Lacap alighted.

Catherine was able to chat with Dudut on Facebook after her husband went missing. Dudut told her that he and "Bandam" went to the nearby church, the Santuario de San Pedro Bautista Parish, and then a riot among bystanders ensued. According to Dudut, he and "Bandam" got separated because of that, and that was the last time he saw him. Dudut also said that "Bandam" had with him P2,000. Catherine did not believe Dudut's story. She also denied that her husband had P2,000 because she knew that her husband only had with him P30 and a flashlight when he left their house. When Catherine tried to communicate again with Dudut, she found that she had been blocked from doing so.

Catherine and her sister, Gracelee Box, have gone to Camp Karingal and various police stations to look for "Bandam," but they were not able to find him.

Box received information from someone she only knows on Facebook that there were four men from Quezon City who were brought to the Cavite Provincial Jail. She was informed that one of them was called "Bandam." Catherine and Box went to the said jail and showed the person in charge a picture of "Bandam." The person went inside and, less than five minutes later, returned and told the sisters that "Bandam" was not there.

Catherine admitted that her husband sometimes used illegal drugs to give him energy in his work as a scavenger, where he had to wake up very early in the morning. She also said that he was also a "runner." In 2016, "Bandam" was included in Operation Tokhang. He was invited to the barangay and told to stop his involvement with drugs. He underwent the barangay's rehabilitation program and graduated from it.  "Bandam" was wearing a green, black, and white striped shirt and shorts with six pockets on the day he went missing.

On October 29, staff from the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) went to the Barangay Damayan Hall to ask for any updates regarding "Bandam's" disappearance, but there were none.

details about their circumstances.