AFP denies missing Burgos is in its custody

By Ronron
May 1, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday denied allegations it has in its custody the missing son of press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos, Jr. and his two companions.

In a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said it is unfair for militant groups to quickly blame the incident to the military, especially that they have no evidence to support their claim.

Jonas Joseph Burgos, who has been giving agriculture technology trainings to members of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan, a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, failed to return home on April 28, along with his companions, Melisa Reyes and an unidentified guy.

The Families of Desaparecidos for Justice (Desaparecidos), which backed the family of Burgos, attributed the alleged abduction incident to the AFP and challenged the organization to produce the missing persons.

“We have checked it. There are no reports that Jonas is under the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Bacarro said.

“That’s why I said it is unfair on the part of these militant groups to say that the (AFP) is behind the abduction of Jonas,” he added.

Bacarro said the AFP is already coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies for the investigation of the incident./DMS