BALANGA CITY – The 200-strong Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bataan Chapter on Monday expressed alarm over what happened to a lawyer who was reported to have been missing since Wednesday last week.
“Abugado natin ang nawawala, parang walang taong ligtas sa Pilipinas kaya kinakabahan kami sa nangyayari,” said former IBP-Bataan president Dante Ilaya.
The human rights activist and lawyer said they have drafted a resolution appealing to everyone who may have information on the whereabouts of Atty.Joe Frank Zuniga to provide them such information so they will know what happened and can inform police agencies.
“Nakikiusap kami sa kung sino man ang may nalalaman sa pagkawala ni Atty. Zuniga, mangyari lamang na ipaalam sa sino mang abugado o sa opisina ng IBP sa Balanga,” Ilaya said.
He said that the family of the missing lawyer and the Capitol Methodist Church have plans of putting up reward money for anyone who could provide information on the whereabouts of Zuniga.
“Nagpakitang willingness ang mga kasapi ng IBP-Bataan na tumulong sa paglikom ng pabuya upang malaman ang kalagayan ng aming kapatid na abugado,” Ilaya said.
As to how much reward money would be, he said that they are still waiting for the decision of the family and the church.
Zuniga, 54, of Lady of Lourdes Subdivision in Balanga City, is a pastor of the Capitol Methodist Church in Balanga.
Charito Zuniga has told pastors of their church and the IBP that her husband left their residence at 8:30 in the morning of June 20 to meet with client Tim Desmond, general manager of Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
They said that Desmond confirmed that the lawyer did see him on that day and left at 11:45 a.m of the same day.
But it turned out that SBMA has no record of the entry and exit of the Honda Civic car driven by Zuniga on that day, Wednesday. Sources said that even the CCTVs of SBMA were not functioning on that day.
