By ALAYSA TAGUMPAY E. ESCANDOR

Pictures of two faces are now posted all over the university. The first is that of Karen Empeño, wearing a bandana, her cheeks stretched in a wide grin. The second is Sherlyn Cadapan, her lips pursed like she just finished sharing a joke. Their smiling faces, however, are stark contrasts to the posters’ outcry: “Palayain si Karen at Sherlyn, mga biktima ng Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL)!”

It has been three weeks since the news of Karen and Sherlyn’s abduction stunned the entire UP community. According to reports, it was at dawn on June 26 that about 20 armed men in black bonnets pounded on the doors of the house where Karen and Sherlyn were sleeping. Sherlyn was two months pregnant at that time. They were forcibly brought out, their hands tied behind their backs. Karen’s shirt was used as her blindfold. Both were shoved into an XLT van. 

Today, Karen and Sherlyn remain missing. 

Penchant for Play

From the pictures alone, one can get a glimpse of Karen’s friendly persona. The 22-year-old BA Sociology major is full of life, her passions as numerous as her friends. Her brother, Ogie, shares that one of Karen’s most striking characteristics is her love for music. He remembers staying up late with her, just strumming the guitar and singing. Among the progressive songs they played, “Awit ng Buklod” was her favorite. But Karen also appreciated mainstream music. To the consternation of her friends, Karen would suddenly jump up to dance every time Madonna’s “Crazy for You” was within earshot.

Similarly, 29-year old Sherlyn has a passion for dancing. She even invented a “Sherlyn-Cadapan dance step,” friend Christina Guevara shares. Yet, beneath her carefree demeanor lies a strong resolve. The awards and scholarship grants she got as a tri-athlete and a UP Varsity player prove her prowess and discipline. Moreover, her stint in the University Student Council as a college representative is a testimony to her leadership.  

Progressive Pursuits 

Living by the measures of activism can take on the aspect of self-sacrifice, but to Karen and Sherlyn, serving the people is its own reward.

Even before Sherlyn arrived in Bulacan, she served as a community organizer in Payatas. Later, she became a research volunteer of Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Bulacan. At the time of the abduction, she was doing community organizing for Anakbayan, a militant youth organization.

Karen, on the other hand, was an active member of the League of Filipino Students (LFS), an organization that sought to address various campus and national issues. “Matapang iyan. Talagang matatag ang loob,” Ogie proudly shares. Her cousin, Yena, adds that her fearlessness was perhaps one of the factors that explain her uncompromising commitment to serving others.

Karen and Sherlyn shared common advocacies which brought them together in Bulacan. They sought to alleviate the local farmers’ plight by studying their condition and exposing anti-peasant policies. It was for the commitment to such cause that the two were abducted.

Various militant and human rights organizations were unanimous in blaming the military for Karen and Sherlyn’s forced disappearance. However, Major General Jovito Palparan, the commander of the infantry that operates in the region, brazenly denied the allegations, saying that “Many people are happy that they have disappeared because they have been threatening and extorting money from them, so we are happy as well that they are gone, if it’s true that they are gone.” He later conceded that other military groups outside his command might have seized them.

Marco delos Reyes, meanwhile, president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines, condemned Palparan’s statement. He asserted that Karen and Sherlyn’s abduction is a clear violation of their human rights. Moreover, the lack of any government action to redress the problem belies the government’s passive stand. Its policy of impunity can only heighten the number of politically motivated violations.

Human rights organization Karapatan affirms that Karen and Sherlyn are but two of the estimated 200 victims of forced disappearances caused by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s ongoing all-out war against the Left. With the release of one billion pesos to fund the war, it is clear that Arroyo seeks to sentence the entire opposition spectrum to its death.

As Karen and Sherlyn have yet to be found, their fellow youth are called to persist in demanding their release. The government has to be made accountable for its atrocities, and military offensives such as OBL must firmly be condemned, lest more innocent lives end up on the search list.  ●

Published in print in the Collegian’s July 21, 2006 issue, with the headline “Missing in Action.”