Felix Salaveria Jr.

Felix Salaveria Jr. was abducted on August 28, 2024, at around 11am, while walking home to his house in the district Cobo in Tabaco, Albay.

Salaveria studied sociology in Metro Manila in the early 1980s where he was involved in student activism against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Since then, Salaveria has been particularly dedicated to the cause of Indigenous Peoples and co-founded the organizations Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa mga Katutubo (TABAK) and Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (KATRIBU). As an avid cyclist, Salaveria co-founded the group Cycling Advocates (CYCAD) in the mid-1990s. In 2023, he suffered a stroke paralyzing the left side of his body.

As Salaveria was walking home from a nearby cafeteria, a silver Toyota van pulled up beside him and two unknown individuals suddenly jumped out of it. They grabbed Salaveria and forced him into the vehicle, which immediately left the scene. The entire incident was recorded by the surveillance camera of the Barangay town hall. Five days earlier, Salaveria had reported the disappearance of his friend James Jazmines, who had celebrated his 66th birthday with him on August 23, 2024, at a restaurant in Tabaco and had last been seen there.

In September 2024, several human rights organizations launched search and documentation campaigns, during which they, among other things, approached various local authorities and church representatives to request assistance in the search for Salaveria.

On February 6, 2025, the Supreme Court granted a petition filed by the family of Felix Salaveria for a writ of amparo and a writ of habeas data. The Court of Appeals upheld the granting of the appeals on July 30, 2025, and highlighted in its ruling the failure of the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. Both Salaveria and Jazmines remain missing.

Update: August 19, 2026