MANILA, Philippines – An activist based in Calabarzon has gone missing right after his release from police detention.

Progressive groups have raised the alarm over the case of Rowena Dasig who went missing after she was released by the police. La Viña, Zarate, and Associates (LVZ), which handled Dasig’s case, said Dasig, along with Miguela “Ella” Piniero, were acquitted by the Gumaca, Quezon Regional Trial Court Branch 172 of the illegal possession of firearms charge filed against them.

Police arrested the two environmental advocates while conducting research in a liquefied natural gas plant in Atimonan, Quezon, in July 2023. Due to the acquittal, Dasig was supposed to be released, while Peniero will remain detained due to other charges she faces.

Despite the acquittal and complying with necessary documents, Dasig remained detained, as of August 21, because “the warden of the Lucena City District Jail unjustly and unlawfully refused to release Owen to her legal team.”

“The actions of the LCDJ in refusing to release Owen to her legal team without any lawful cause amounted to Delaying Release under the Revised Penal Code and is tantamount to Arbitrary Detention. It also constitutes a refusal to comply with a court order, amounting to contempt of court, and also grave misconduct as they willfully refused to perform their duty of releasing an acquitted person with no further pending cases,” the activists’ lawyers said.

The next day, August 22, Dasig’s legal team was informed that the activist had been released from detention. However, as of writing, Dasig’s whereabouts remain unknown. Personnel of the LCDJ did not also talk to the paralegal team that returned to the detention facility on Saturday, August 24, to gather information that could help in tracking Dasig’s location.

“Nang hingan ng logbook upang makumpirma ang sinasabing release ay hindi rin maibigay dahil sa ‘privacy’ (When we asked for logbook to confirm Dasig’s release, the LCDJ did not grant the request, citing ‘privacy’),” rights group Karapatan Southern Tagalog said.

Aside from being an environmental defender, Dasig also served as secretary general of Anakbayan–Southern Tagalog. She is “a fervent youth activist who dedicated her work to environment- and health-related advocacies after experiencing dire societal conditions first-hand while studying medical technology in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Youth Movement Against Tyranny Southern Tagalog.

Even the paralegal team that helped Dasig and Piniero in 2023 faced threats and intimidation. Fritz Labiano and Adrian Paul Tagle were sued for terror financing and for providing material support to terrorists under Section 12 of the feared anti-terror law. Both suits had been junked. – Rappler.com