Last Seen:

February 18, 1988.

Pasay City 
DANILO, aka JOSEPH GILE, 24 years old, single, and resident of Blk. 6 Lot. 12 St. Francis, Maricaban, Pasay City, was last seen at a restaurant located at the corner of Libertad and Harrison Sts., Pasay City, on February 18, 1988.

Joseph was an active urban-poor community organizer of the cause-oriented groups Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Tagalungsod (KPML) and the Kabataan para sa Demokrasya at Nasyonalismo (KADENA).

According to the eyewitness, at around 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. He was on his way to the hospital riding a passenger jeepney with the signboard Pier-Libertad. Because of the heavy traffic, the jeepney stopped in front of the Holiday Plaza Cinema on Libertad St., Pasay City. There he saw Joseph Gile walking casually, wearing a black shirt and maong pants with a red booklet tucked under his left arm. He also noticed the three military-looking men wearing plainclothes and sunglasses coming from the side of a gasoline station at the corner of Libertad and Harrison Sts. rushing towards Joseph. One of them immediately put his arm over the victim's shoulder, the other one grasped the left hand, and the last one followed behind. They brought Joseph to a restaurant in front of a gasoline station located at the corner of Libertad and Harrison Sts. The witness also noticed that there were three policemen standing in that area, and there is a great possibility that they witnessed the incident. That was the last time he had seen Joseph because the passenger jeepney he was riding took a turn towards Vito Cruz. He immediately reported the incident to Joseph's relatives and friends.

The relatives spent no time in going to the Pasay Police Headquarters, but the authorities denied the allegation. Instead, they were referred to the NCR Regional Command-South Sector-Fort Bonifacio, where the military similarly denied having any knowledge of the incident.

Another witness, a waitress at the restaurant earlier identified by the eyewitness, said that at around 4:00-4:30 p.m. She noticed three men pushing a man inside an owner-type jeepney parked along Libertad St., just a few meters away from her. She also said that the man was wearing a dark shirt and maong pants with a red booklet tucked under his arm. She seemed to know more on the incident but was reluctant to divulge other information for fear of reprisal.

A certain traffic policeman assigned to the area said he was busy at that time because of the heavy traffic, but he noticed something happened in front of the Shell Gasoline Station located along Libertad St. at the corner of Harrison St. But after pausing for a moment, he categorically stated that he did not know anything about the incident.

More information was given by Rodiguer de los Santos, a victim of summary execution found by his family fighting for his life on March 29, 1988, in Antipolo, Rizal. He sustained gunshot wounds, a stab wound at the neck, and had barbecue sticks pierced into different parts of his body, even his tongue. He was able to live for a few days, and before he died, he gave some information on what had happened to him. In his testimony, he was apprehended by the operatives of the Southern Police District on February 21, 1988, and later turned over to the authorities at Camp Aguinaldo. There he saw Joseph Gile, and they were being detained together. They were both tortured by their captors, but there were instances that they could talk to each other and relate the incidents that happened to them. Joseph was still there when Rodiguer was being taken out of detention and salvaged. Before he died, Rodiguer gave the location where Joseph was being kept by the military.

With this information, Joseph's family immediately went to Camp Aguinaldo on April 01, 1988, and talked to the Provost Marshal, who told them that the house wherein Joseph was allegedly detained was not under his jurisdiction.

The family did not lose hope and exerted all their efforts to locate Joseph's whereabouts. They sought the help of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), the Hon. Mary Concepcion Bautista, the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, who in turn sought the help of the Secretary of National Defense, Fidel V. Ramos.   Despite all these efforts, Joseph's fate is still unknown.

details about their circumstances.