Bacolod couple’s search for missing son prompts SC writ on cops’ accountability
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Merlina Tayo dreamt of her son Henry Jr. on Tuesday night, March 25. The vision was so vivid it jolted her awake. In her dream, her son was pleading for help, bruised and battered at the hands of his captors.
For three years, Henry Jr.’s parents have searched for answers. The 21-year-old vanished in 2022, his fate unknown until now. A Supreme Court order has forced the Bacolod City police to search in order to present him, dead or alive.
The ruling, a writ of amparo, renewed hope for the Tayos, a poverty-stricken couple who refused to let their son’s disappearance be forgotten.
“Our hunger for justice has only deepened,” Henry Sr. told Rappler on Wednesday, March 26. “The Supreme Court is now our ally.”
They admitted Henry Jr. was no saint as he struggled with substance abuse and served eight months behind bars for qualified theft. At the time of his disappearance in 2022 (not 2023, as police initially stated), he was under probation. But none of that, they said, justified what they believed happened next.
“He was not killed and kept from us for those reasons,” Merlina told Rappler in Hiligaynon.
The third of their eight children, Henry Jr. would have returned home if he could, she said. Instead, for nearly three years, his parents have been on edge, chasing every lead. They combed through crime reports, followed news of dumped bodies, and pursued even rumors.
“We went as far as Sagay City in northern Negros to check if any of the victims of summary executions there or elsewhere was our son,” Henry Sr. said. “Looking for him every day for nearly three years has been agonizing. Every night feels like a nightmare.”
The vanishing
On the night of September 27, 2022, barangay tanod members apprehended Henry Jr., accusing him of stealing a cellphone from a resident named Melleza Besana. He was taken to Bacolod Police Station 8 in Barangay Tangub, where he admitted selling the phone. After he led Besana to recover it, she declined to press charges.
Under standard procedures, he should have been released after 12 hours. Police claimed he was. But his family never saw him again.
Henry Jr.’s sister, Hazel, said the police failed to provide proof that he ever walked out of the station.
“Worse, when we pressed them for evidence, they told us to hire an IT expert to backtrack their CCTV files,” Hazel said in Hiligaynon.
Legal aid
Desperate for answers, the Tayos sought help from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) in Bacolod, where they learned about the writ of amparo – a legal safeguard against state-sponsored disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
“We didn’t know about it, but PAO-Bacolod asked if we were willing, and we said yes,” Merlina said,
Their first petition, filed with the Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 43, was denied.
“Daw gintagban kami sang langit (It felt like the heavens collapsed on us),” Merlina said.
Undeterred, they elevated the case to the SC. On November 13, 2024, Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao granted their petition. The official order, made public on March 11, compelled Bacolod police to present Henry Jr.
Digging for the truth
Lieutenant Colonel Joey Puerto, chief of Bacolod Police Station 8, said his unit was left with no choice but to comply, adding that they were also feeling the pressure from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the National Police Commission, which launched investigations.
On March 17, with approval from the Department of Health, Puerto’s team exhumed four bodies of still unidentified men from cemeteries in Handuman, Bacolod; Ma-ao, Bago; and Blumentritt, Murcia. They plan to exhume two more bodies in Felisa, Bacolod, in the coming days.
Police have taken DNA samples from the Tayo couple and are awaiting results to determine if any of the remains belong to Henry Jr.
Seeking justice
The Tayos’ fight does not end with finding their son.
“Even if we see our brother – dead or alive – we will still pursue a criminal case against those responsible,” Hazel said.
She said they were aware that the odds were against them, but they refused to back down.
“Assuming he was a victim of extrajudicial killing, we have the right to claim his body. That’s our big challenge now. But we will not stop. We will not stay silent. We will fight,” Hazel said.
Their search continues, and with the SC’s recent ruling, the Tayos said they were optimistic that justice, although delayed, was already within reach. – Rappler.com