! ! ! December!19,!2012! ! Letters!to:!! 1.!H.E.!The!Prime!Minister! 2.!H.E.!Minister!of!The!Prime!Minister’s!Office,! !!!!!!!! ! 3.!H.E.!President!of!The!National!Assembly,! !!!!!!!! ! 4.!H.E.!Minister!of!Foreign!Affairs,! !!!!!!!! ! 5.!H.E.!Minister!of!Interior,! !!!!!!! ! 6.!H.E.!The!Governor!of!Vientiane!Prefecture,! !!!!!Lao!Peoples!Democratic!Republic! ! CC:!Embassies/consulates!of!Australia,!,!France,!Germany,!,!,! !!!!!!!,!,!,!,!South!Korea,!Sweden,!,!USA! ! ! Requesting!urgent!investigations!into!the!disappearance!of!Mr.!Sombath!Somphone!and!actions! to!ensure!his!safety! ! Excellency,! ! We,!the!Ramon!Magsaysay!Award!Foundation!(RMAF)!trustees,!officers!and!staff,!and!the!Ramon! Magsaysay!Awardees!listed!below,!are!extremely!concerned!about!the!safety!and!well]being!of! Mr.!Sombath!Somphone,!founder!of!PADETC!and!2005!Ramon!Magsaysay!awardee!for! Community!Service,!who!has!been!missing!since!about!17:00!on!Saturday,!15!December.! ! There!have!been!news!reports!that!at!18:00!Saturday,!Mr.!Sombath!was!stopped!by!police!on!his! way!home!and!brought!to!a!police!station!in!Vientiane!and!that!later,!a!man!walked!out!of!the! station!with!Mr.!Sombath!and!drove!away!with!him!in!a!white!pickup!truck.!That!was!reported!as! the!last!known!sighting!of!Mr.!Sombath.! ! We!urge!the!Government!of!the!Lao!PDR!and!all!relevant!authorities!in!the!Lao!PDR!to! immediately!and!with!urgency!investigate!Mr.!Sombath!Somphone’s!disappearance,!and!to!take! all!steps!possible!to!ensure!Mr.!!Sombath!Somphone’s!safety!and!well]being.!His!family!should!be! informed!as!soon!as!possible!after!his!whereabouts!and!his!situation!are!known.! ! Many!of!us!visited!Mr.!Sombath!and!PADETC!in!Vientiane!in!November!2005!and!were!very! impressed!with!Mr.!Sombath’s!work!on!youth!development.!We!know!Mr.!Sombath!as!a!kind!and! gentle!community!worker!who!loves!his!country!and!his!people.!! ! We!fervently!hope!that!Mr.!Sombath!Somphone’s!whereabouts!will!be!discovered!very!soon!and! that!he!will!be!found!safe!and!well.!We!thank!the!Government!of!the!Lao!PDR!and!all!relevant! authorities!for!all!efforts!made!to!ensure!Mr.!Sombath’s!safety!and!well]being.!!!!!! ! ! Respectfully,! ! RAMON!MAGSAYSAY!AWARDEES! RMAF!BOARD!OF!TRUSTEES,!OFFICERS!AND!STAFF!! ! ! ! Ramon&Magsaysay&Awardees& ! Country& Award&Year& 1. Suzie!M.!Benitez!for!Bayanihan!Folk!Arts!Foundation! Philippines! 1965! 2. A.!T.!Ariyaratne! Sri!Lanka! 1969! 3. Fazle!Hasan!Abed! ! 1980! 4. Prawase!Wasi! Thailand! 1981! 5. Richard!W.!Timm,!CSC! Bangladesh! 1987! 6. Juan!L.!Mercado!for!Press!Foundation!of!! Philippines! 1991! 7. Angel!Alcala! Philippines! 1992! 8. Vo!Tong!Xuan! Vietnam! 1993! 9. Kiran!Bedi! India! 1994! 10. Eduardo!Jorge!Anzorena! Japan! 1994! 11. Sima!Samar! Afghanistan! 1994! 12. Mechai!Viravaidya! Thailand! 1994! 13. Asma!Jahangir! ! 1995! 14. Syed!Adibul!Hasan!Rizvi! Pakistan! 1998! 15. Lin!Hwai]min! ! 1999! 16. Aruna!Roy! India! 2000! 17. Jockin!Arputham! India! 2000! 18. Atmakusumah!Astraatmadja!! Indonesia! 2000! 19. Oung!Chanthol! ! 2001! 20. Hilario!G.!Davide! Philippines!! 2002! 21. Sandeep!Pandey! India! 2002! 22. Sheila!Coronel! Philippines! 2003! 23. Shantha!Sinha! India! 2003! 24. Benjamin!Abadiano! Philippines! 2004! 25. Laxminarayan!Ramdas!! India! 2004! 26. Hye!Ran!Yoon! South!Korea! 2005! 27. Jon!Ungphakorn! Thailand! 2005! 28. Teten!Masduki!! Indonesia! 2005! 29. Antonio!Meloto! Philippines! 2006! 30. Mahabir!Pun! ! 2007! 31. Palagummi!Sainath! India! 2007! 32. Jaime!Aristotle!Alip!for!CARD]MRI! Philippines! 2008! 33. Prakash!and!Mandakini!Amte! India! 2008! 34. Ananda!Galappatti! Sri!Lanka! 2008! 35. Grace!Padaca! Philippines! 2008! 36. Deep!Joshi! India! 2009! 37. Ma!Jun! China! 2009! 38. Antonio!Oposa!Jr.! Philippines! 2009! 39. Yu!Xiaogang! China! 2009! 40. Tadatoshi!Akiba! Japan! 2010! 41. Christopher!and!Maria!Victoria!Bernido! Philippines! 2010! 42. Huo!Daishan! China! 2010! 43. A.H.M.!Noman!Khan! Pakistan! 2010! 44. Alternative!Indigenous!Development!Foundation,!Inc.!! Philippines!! 2011! 45. Harish!Hande! India! 2011! 46. Hasanain!Juaini! Indonesia! 2011! 47. Nileema!Mishra! India! 2011! 48. Tri!Mumpuni! Indonesia! 2011! 49. Koul!Panha! Cambodia! 2011! ! Ramon&Magsaysay&Award&Foundation&Trustees&–&present&and&past& & 1.! Carmencita!T.!Abella!–!President! 2.! Maria!Cynthia!Rose!B.!Bautista!–!Chair! 3.! Juan!B.!Santos!–!Vice]Chair! 4.! Robina!Gokongwei]Pe!–!Treasurer! 5.! Marianne!G.!Quebral! 6.! Delia!D.!Albert! 7.! Fr.!Jose!Ramon!T.!Villarin!SJ! 8.! M.!S.!Swaminathan! 9.! Mechai!Viravaidya! 10.! Amb.!Bienvenido!A.!Tan,!Jr.! 11.! Cecilia!Lazaro!! 12.! Randolf!S.!David! 13.!!!!!!!!!Vitaliano!Nanagas!II! ! Ramon&Magsaysay&Award&Foundation&Officers&and&Staff! ! ! ! ! ! OFFICERS:& Zealanda!R.!Samodio,!Director! Ma.!Carmencita!P.!Toledo,!Director! George!B.!Murillo,!Director,!Business!Development! Manuel!Hizon,!Communications!Director! Edgar!Geolina,!Resource!Mobilization!Officer! Elmira!L.!Evangelista,!Finance!Director! STAFF:& Alba,!Angeli!C.! Alberto,!Shirley!O.! Alcantara,!Bonifacio!D.! Amot,!Josephine!M.! Bahinting,!Estrella!A.! Baral,!Yuri!S.! Bartina,!Daniel!A.! Beltran,!Lilli!Ann!R.! Branzuela,!Fenny!Lynn!A.! Carasig,!Richard!Emmanuel!M.! Cinco,!Emelita!F.! Constantino,!Maritess!T.!! Cuarom,!Josette!S.! Cubian,!Edralin!V.! Dantes,!Maria!Rosa!T.! de!la!Cruz,!Leticia!T.! Espallardo,!Daisy!A.! Espeleta,!Fernando!B.! Fernandez,!Marie!Kiel!S.! Flores,!Virgilio!E.! Fojas,!Imelda!T.! Hernandez,!Alfredo!B.! Hontucan,!Mona!Rissa!R.! Labayo,!Melchor!E.! Lastrella,!Ruben!M.! Leido,!Ofelia!P.! Macalalad,!Virgilio!T.! Malagar,!Lily!Rose!A.! Manalang,!Roberto!C.! Manzon,!Mary!Jane!P.! Marcial,!Chona!D.!! Naig,!Rowena!G.! Pelador,!Philven!V.!! Pelayo,!Roberto!M.! Rances,!Romel!P.! Santos,!Noel!G.!! Saquido,!Fernando!R.! Soriano,!Maricyn!S.! Sotelo,!Wilfredo!R.! Sto.!Domingo,!Ardian!C.!! Suarez,!Rodolfo!Pocholo!A.! Suba,!Jesus!M.! Suba,!Jose!G.! Talana,!Carmencita!D.! Taligatos,!Ernesto!O.! Tira,!Reina!Mercedes!S.! Ugdamin,!Antonio!O.!! Villancio,!Tomas!H.! ! ! ! !