A day after his alleged abduction by five armed men in Kalinga, 63-year-old activist Steve Tauli was found by his colleagues, according to the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance.
The CHRA stated Tauli was found at 10 p.m. on Aug. 21 after a search initiated by the Cordillera People’s Alliance in Kalinga.
The group stated Tauli, a development worker and indigenous peoples human rights defender, was in shock when found by his colleagues.
Tauli was earlier reported by his wife, CPA vice chairperson Jill Cariño, to be beaten up and abducted on Aug. 20 in the vicinity of the CPA Kalinga office where he was based.
“CCTV footage shows five men believed to be State security forces entering and leaving the office along Ag-a Road, Appas, Tabuk City, Kalinga,” Jill stated in her Facebook post asking for the public to support the surfacing of her husband.
The CHRA and various activists groups immediately made calls to the local government units, Philippine National Police, and Armed Forces of the Philippines in search for Tauli.
Tauli is the son of the late Rev. Alejandro Tauli and late nurse Cirena Ambucay Tauli of Besao, Mountain Province and has three children.
He is also the brother of former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Vicky Tauli-Corpuz.
Police reports were also filed in Kalinga regarding the alleged abduction incident.
The CHRA has not yet disclosed how Tauli was found and who was responsible for his alleged abduction. – Ofelia C. Empian
