Thursday, August 25, 2011

Mrs. B, a monologue (Re-staging)




Warm greetings from my family and Desaparecidos! It has been more than four years since my son Jonas has been missing. While the Supreme Court resolved that the military produce my one based on the investigation of the Commission on Human Rights which identified one of the abductors, until now we have no clue of his whereabouts or his condition along with the other victims of enforced disappearance. We have brought our battle to all legal remedies available. We have also taken alternative means to increase the community’s awareness on the phenomenon of enforced disappearance, which to me, is one of the gravest crimes against humanity.

One such effort is the play “Mrs. B” which depicts my life with focus on our family’s search for Jonas. The play is a one-act monologue and runs for approximately 40 minutes. It was written by award-winning playwright Joi Barrios together with Rowena Festin and Grundy Constantino of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) and directed by Soc Jose, also of CAP. The play was first shown in 2009 with Pinky Amador playing the role of Mrs. B. With the support of The Asia Foundation, it was restaged in February 2010 which alternately starred Bibeth Orteza and Gina Alajar.

We now hope to bring the play to some universities all over the country this August, again, with the support of The Asia Foundation, with Ms. Bibeth Orteza and Ms. Malou de Guzman playing the role of Mrs. B alternately. We believe that the play will help in informing the public, especially our students, of the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in the country.

We also hope to raise sufficient funds for the continued search and campaign for the freedom of our missing kin. Confident that you are one with the victims in the search for justice, we look forward to your positive response and to the generosity of your heart.

Thank you very much.
Respectfully yours,
EDITA T. BURGOS
Mother of missing Jonas Burgos / Chairperson, Desaparecidos