A YEAR after labor organizer William Lariosa went missing, various groups launched the Surface William Lariosa Network to intensify calls for his return and raise awareness about enforced disappearances.
Yasmin, Lariosa’s daughter, expressed pride in her father’s work and firm refusal to accept his disappearance. She said she refuses to accept what happened, as doing so would normalize an unjust system. For her, the past year has been filled with grief, rage, and suffering—not just counted in months but in every painful hour.
She also criticized the system where “those who truly serve the people are vilified, while oppressors are idolized.”
Robert Lausa, vice president of the United Bunawan Homeowners Association, recalled how Lariosa mentored him during difficult times.
“His words always encouraged me. He had been organizing workers for a long time,” Lausa said.
Since 2024, Lariosa’s family and paralegal teams have led search and fact-finding efforts, filing cases in regional and appellate courts, yet his whereabouts remain unknown.
The newly formed network brings together church members, labor unions, human rights workers, professionals, and community allies. Following the launch, participants signed a pledge committing their time and resources to the campaign for justice—not only for Lariosa but for all desaparecidos.
The Surface William Lariosa Network said that the creation of the group stands as a testament to their unwavering hope and determination to bring William—and all desaparecidos—home. They vowed not to be discouraged by state inaction and called on human rights advocates to join the movement and amplify the call to surface William Lariosa. The search, they affirmed, is far from over.
Lariosa, 64, is a veteran labor organizer from Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU). Since 1996, he had been advocating for pineapple and sugarcane plantation workers. On April 10, 2024, he was reportedly abducted in Purok Sunny Day, Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon, while working closely with agricultural laborers.
Between July 2022 and December 2024, at least 14 human rights defenders have forcibly disappeared in the Philippines. RGP