Dominado's daughters saddened by stories saying abduction was staged
For the daughters of missing activist Luisa Posa-Dominado, the feeling of loss that they have to endure following the "enforced disappearance" of their mother April 12 of last year was too much to bear. But what makes the pain more excruciating for them are the stories that say her abduction together with Anakpawis partylist nominee Nilo Arado has been staged by the New People's Army (NPA) as a propaganda ploy against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
"There's this story that my father, who they accuse of being an NPA, staged my mother's abduction so they could use the incident to discredit the military in the eyes of the people. There is also this story that has been spreading around that what happened to my mother is part of a power struggle within the communist organization. All those stories we don't want to entertain for the simple reason that if we do, we'd be promoting the idea that my mother is a member of the NPA when she, and this I know for a fact, is not," said a teary-eyed May Wan Dominado, the 25-year old older daughter of Luisa with husband Tomas Dominado, during her guest appearance in the popular public affairs program Serbisyo Publiko recently.
"It's really masakit para sa amon nga kinahanglan mo pa i-defend ang biktima [painful for us that you even need to defend the victim], that despite all that happened siya pa nga biktima ang ginadudahan [it's the victim that is being put in doubt]," she further lamented.
According to May Wan, it puzzles her no end that the military and the police would scramble to their feet upon learning of kidnap cases involving wealthy and prominent personalities but are slow to act on the abduction case of her mother and Arado. "Gapalak gid ya pulis kag militar sa pagpangita sa mga [The police and the military would stumble over each other looking for these] kidnap victims. Why is it that with my mother, they would hit us instead of helping us?"
No closure
According to the 25-year old Law graduate, who last saw her mother a day before the abduction when the latter sent her off to Manila to review for the Bar examinations, the pain that they presently feel is much deeper than those who have had to endure the death of a loved one.
"For us, the pain is more profound. Everyday, nagadugang ang sakit [the pain is greater]. The feeling of loss is much different because you don't exactly know what really happened to her. There is no closure. I can say maayo pa gani ang namatyan [the situation is much better for those who had a death in the family], at least they'll know how to deal with the loss. In our case, we don't know how to feel," said May Wan, who is so named after being born on May 1, 1982 . Incidentally, her younger sister, 15-year old Tamara Michelle, was also born exactly ten years later, on May 1, 1992 .
Asked by program host Iloilo City councilor Perla Zulueta how she and her sister is coping with her mother's continued disappearance, May Wan said it is generally sad.
"Honestly, we can't capsulate in words the feeling of loss that we have, especially that for the first time we have celebrated Christmas and New Year without her beside us. But we have to be strong; we have to continue believing that some day our mother would be back with us," she further quipped.
In conclusion, she appealed to those who may have information on the case of her mother to come out and help them find her. "Indi kamo mahadlok [Don't be afraid]. If you have information as to our mother's whereabouts, please contact us immediately at 329-3749. Help us bring back our mother."