DAVAO ORIENTAL — “I just want my daughter back. Please help us find her.”
In between sobs, Luisa Espina pleaded to the public who might give her leads to the whereabouts of her daughter Lovaine Erika Espina who was missing since December 2018 when she was recruited by the progressive group “Anakbayan”.
Lovaine Erika was only sixteen years old and was attending Senior High School at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) when she joined Anakbayan, her mother said in a press conference held at the Provincial Capitol on January 27, 2021.
Based on intelligence reports, Lovaine Erika was sent to the New People’s Army camps in the boundaries of Davao Oriental.
“We hurdled all the stress and hassles in our travel here. Despite the distance and the pandemic, we came here because we want to have our daughter back. I do not know what the Anakbayan did to her and why did they bring my daughter here. I just hope, we can already bring her back home with us,” said Luisa Espina who is now a member of the non-government organization Hands-off Our Children.
“This is very painful for us. We want to give her a bright future but this happened. We coordinated with the local government units and the Task Force to End Local Communist Arm Conflict (ELCAC ) just to go to the places where she was reportedly seen, even if there is no certainty that we will see her,” she added.
Mr. Efren Espina, Lovaine Erika’s father, said that they did not expect her to join the NPA as she is a bright and cheerful kid.
Governor Nelson Dayanghirang called on to the armed group for the safe return of Espina to her parents. “Don’t deprive her of her future. Have pity on her parents who have been in anguish for the last two years. There is no way you can justify what you did,” he stressed.
The Governor also called on Davao Oriental residents who might have led to the missing Espina.
Coordination efforts between Davao Oriental and the neighboring province of Davao de Oro where the young Espina was also reported to be seen. By Neela Duallo
