www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — A day after his reported kidnapping in Tabuk City, Kalinga, by suspected state agents, a search party of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Kalinga found Stephen’ Steve’ Tauli on Sunday evening, August 21.
“Steve Tauli was found at around 10 PM today, after the search initiated by CPA in Kalinga, including persistent calls made to the local government units, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) said.
“He is still in shock and needs to recover to be able to state the full accounts of what took place since the assault on him yesterday,” the group added.
CHRA said Tauli is now recovering in a safe place but has yet to disclose where Tauli is and additional details of his reported assault and abduction.
Calls to surface Tauli gained traction on social media just hours after CHRA released an urgent alert around 5 PM on August 21, appealing for public support for the search for the 63-year-old Tauli.
A report filed by Tauli’s colleague with the local police said five men descended from a white Sportivo and forcibly took him. The abduction happened between 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM on August 20 in front of a store at Ag-a Road, Appas, Tabuk City.
The place was near the CPA provincial office.
A CCTV footage on the same day of the abduction acquired by CPA Kalinga also showed five men in a red Innova getting out of the vehicle. The men entered the CPA provincial office at 7:52 PM and left after five minutes.
Tauli, a veteran of the Chico Dam Projects struggle, is a current CPA regional council member. Like other leaders of CPA, he was a constant subject of surveillance and red-tagging.
As an organizer of CPA-affiliate Timpuyog ti Mannalon ti Kalinga, he is active in the ongoing opposition against the 49 MW Saltan D and 45 MW Saltan E Dams along the Saltan River, a project of JBD Water Power Inc. # nordis.net
