Jan. 16, 2019, 12:50 P.M. – THE FATHER of a UST legal management freshman has come out in the open in an effort to reach his daughter, who went missing in December after a supposed immersion with farmers in Quezon Province.
Roland Camingawan sought help from radio station dzBB on Tuesday claiming his daughter Rizza Divine, 18, went missing after he lost contact with her on Christmas Eve.
Rizza had left her family a message, saying she wanted to spend the Christmas vacation with farmers.
“[N]apagpasyahan ko na po makipamuhay at maki-celebrate ngayong Pasko at Bagong Taon sa hanay ng mga magsasaka,” she said in a text message on Dec. 19, the same day she was last seen by her family.
She also appealed for understanding from her parents for not being with them during the holidays.
“Hindi niyo man ako kapiling nang pisikal ngayong Pasko dahil napagpasyahan ko na ipagdiwang ito kasama ng mga magsasaka, narito lang ako sa mga puso niyo at hinding-hindi ako mawawala. Hiling ko lang naman ngayong pasko ay maintindihan niyo po ako,” she added.
The legal management freshman is said to be a member of the League of Filipino Students (LFS)-UST, and of Anakbayan-UST when she was in UST Senior High School.
In February 2018, she and a group of Anakbayan-UST members led a silent protest at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building, and were apprehended by faculty members. They were brought to the principal’s office and their IDs and mobile phones were confiscated.
READ: Senior high students hold ‘silent protest’ vs K to 12, sent to principal’s office
The Varsitarian tried to reach out to LFS-UST members but they have yet to respond.
The legal management program of the University does not have a subject that requires its students to take part in any immersion.
Roland said an unknown number messaged him on Dec. 24, claimed to be his daughter and assured him that she was “well taken care of.” He said his daughter’s contact number could not be reached anymore.
On Jan. 5, Roland said a certain Patrick Henry Fernandez reached out to him through Facebook Messenger to arrange a meeting with someone named Mark concerning his daughter’s whereabouts.
“Sabi [ni Mark] sa akin nasa Quezon [province daw ang anak ko]. [O]kay lang daw ang anak ko pero ayaw niyang [sabihin] ‘yong eksaktong lugar, noong tinanong ko kung nasaan banda [si Rizza] para sunduin ko na siya,” he added.
A few hours after Roland spoke to dzBB, Mark reached out anew and asked him not to publicize the matter due to the “political situation” of the country.
“Siguro po huwag na lang natin gawin ulit ‘yun kasi mainit po ‘yung political situation ngayon. Hindi naman po sa pinag-aalala ko kayo pero baka po kasi isipin ng kung sino-sino na ‘yung simpleng pag-immerse sa mga farmers ay kung ano-ano na [‘yung] ginagawa,” Mark told Roland in a text message.
Rizza’s friends Shaira Diaz and Norraine Dacillo said they also tried contacting her during the Paskuhan festivities but did not receive any response from her.
The Varsitarian asked Rizza’s father if he had tried reaching out to UST authorities, but he had yet to respond.
He said he would file a report with the National Bureau of Investigation today, Jan. 16.