María Jesús San José, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and Alberto Alonso, director of Gogora, have handed over the mortal remains of militiamen Cosme Ayala Yoldi and Manuel Hernáez Ruidíaz to their respective families. The remains were recovered from a grave in the cemetery of Amorebieta-Etxano in July 2025.

Two daughters of these two war victims were present at the ceremony and received their fathers' remains. In an emotional event held today in Bilbao, the minister recalled 'two committed lives torn apart by the senselessness of war, two life projects destroyed in minutes,' and addressed the families: 'because you are the future they dreamed of, ninety years of family history they could not enjoy'.

San José insisted on the need to 'recover the past, search for the disappeared of the civil war and Francoism to return them to the place they should never have left' because that is precisely 'making memory'. For this reason, she advocated for the 'fundamental role of democratic memory laws' for their importance in building coexistence and citizenship, and for public administrations to take them seriously. 'Without them, Manuel and Cosme would possibly never have returned to their homes,' she concluded.

Alonso, for his part, reflected on what he believes constitutes making memory: 'much more than organizing large public events or placing plaques here and there. It involves hours and days dedicated to discreet work, invisible to most of society, but focused on closeness, listening, and accompanying victims and their families.' He therefore thanked the families for their 'tenacity and commitment to having their loved ones back with them' and, above all, for their 'strength in maintaining their dignity and memory'.

With the aim of achieving new identifications and strengthening the reach of current efforts, the director of Gogora announced the launch of a communication campaign. The campaign targets anyone who believes a family member may have died in battle or as a result of Francoist repression and whose remains have not been recovered. The goal is to collect genetic samples to expand the DNA Bank and compare them with the skeletal remains exhumed from various mass graves, leading to new identifications.

The militiamen Cosme Ayala Yoldi and Manuel Hernáez Ruidíaz died in April 1937 on the war fronts of Elorrio and Muxika, respectively. Their burial place was unknown; they were two war disappeared. In both cases, genetic identifications were carried out thanks to samples provided by their daughters.

Cosme Ayala Yoldi, born in Navarre and a resident of Barakaldo, was married with two daughters and worked as a day laborer. During the war, he fought as a militiaman in the Meabe 1 'Largo Caballero' Battalion, affiliated with the Unified Socialist Youth. He died on April 27, 1937, in Elorrio (Bizkaia).

Manuel Hernáez Ruidíaz, born in La Rioja, lived in Bilbao, was married, and the couple had one daughter. He also worked as a day laborer. During the war, he fought as a militiaman in the Zabalbide battalion, affiliated with Izquierda Republicana. He died on April 20, 1937, on the front of Muxika (Bizkaia).

The mortal remains of the two militiamen were located in the same grave, number 11, in the cemetery of Amorebieta-Etxano, along with those of 28 other people, in July 2025. Although generally referred to as 'the grave of the Amorebieta-Etxano Cemetery', in reality, after excavating the entire area, 11 burials containing the remains of 157 people were discovered.

The analysis of the genetic samples from these skeletal remains has just concluded, enabling these two identifications. In the case of Cosme Ayala, one of his two daughters donated the sample in April, and the identification was made within weeks. For Manuel Hernáez, his only daughter's DNA had been part of the Gogora Genetic Bank since 2023, although Manuel's remains were not located until July of the previous year.

With these two new identifications, 8 out of 157 people have been identified to date. The ongoing identifications provide valuable information for understanding the profile of the remaining individuals: combatants who died between December 1936 and May 1937 on various battlefronts in Bizkaia, or those who died after being transferred wounded to the Military Hospital of Amorebieta-Etxano during that period.

Therefore, Gogora reaffirms its call to relatives of combatants who died during those dates to provide a DNA sample for comparison with the skeletal remains. The sample collection and analysis process is painless and free of charge for the interested person.

The individuals identified to date are all male combatants: Adolfo Cengotitabengoa Izurza (Muskiz), Jaime Iñiguez Nieva (Ortuella), Enrique Contreras (Linares, resident of Aretxabaleta), Benigno Hierro Pinedo (Ortuella), Jacinto Polo Ríos (Donostia), Jesús Arratibel Ruiz de Alegría (Zalduondo), Manuel Hernaéz Ruidíaz (Matute, resident of Bilbao), and Cosme Ayala Yoldi (Navarre, resident of Barakaldo).

Centoitabengoa, Iñiguez, and Hierro were militiamen of the Perezagua battalion (Communist Party of Euskadi) and died on April 7, 1937, on the Barazar front. Enrique Contreras, a gudari of the ‘Sarasketa’ battalion (EAJ-PNV), died a day earlier, on April 6, in Dima. Jacinto Polo and Jesús Arratibel died at the Military Hospital of Amorebieta-Etxano in the first week of December 1936. The cases of the last two identified, who died on April 20 and 27, 1937, extend the temporal range of those deceased inhumed in Amorebieta-Etxano.

These identifications are carried out within the framework of the 'Search Program for Disappeared Persons of the Civil War,' managed, financed, and coordinated by Gogora, and materialized through the work of Euskal Prospekzio Taldea (locating possible burial sites of Civil War and post-war victims), the Aranzadi Science Society (carrying out exhumations and forensic analysis of remains), and the Biomics laboratory of the University of the Basque Country (EHU) (responsible for DNA sample analysis and comparison).