Army to SC: Jonas Burgos is not with us

By Ronron
July 25, 2007

“If Jonas Burgos is with the military, there is no reason for us not to bring him out.”

Thus said Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. on Wednesday in reaction to the Supreme Court’s order for the military to produce abducted Jonas Joseph Burgos tomorrow (Friday).

The problem, Torres said, is Burgos is not under the custody of the military.

“First, the military organization has no policy or is not into the business of abducting. Secondly, we already want to put a closure or to resolve this case because the issue has been dragging on and in the process, it is already having a negative impact on the military organization,” Torres said in a phone interview.

According to him, the Philippine Army has in fact been consistent with its effort to try to locate Burgos in support with proper investigating units, like the Philippine National Police (PNP).

He cited for example the sharing of their information with the PNP, such as those that pertain with the plate number allegedly used in the abduction of Burgos last April 28 from a mall in Quezon City. The plate number was later discovered inside an Army camp in Bulacan but the military still denied it is behind the abduction.

In a two-page order, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the appeal of Burgos’ mother for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon, and other military officers.

It also directed the Court of Appeals to immediately raffle the case so that a hearing can be conducted at 10am tomorrow.

Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said they will still appear before the Court of Appeals hearing even without Burgos.

“Definitely, we will appear but we will respectfully reiterate what we have been saying that Jonas is not in our custody and that we are not aware of his whereabouts,” Bacarro told reporters in a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

Bacarro said the military welcomes though the order of the high tribunal, calling it “okay” since it would allow the organization to clear its name from any allegations.

“It’s part of the legal process,” Bacarro said of the Supreme Court ruling.

Burgos, according to his family, is an agriculturist who provides trainings to members of the militant peasant groups in Central Luzon before he was abducted. But thee Philippine Army said there are indications he was already a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Burgos’ family has accused the military of being behind the incident based on the recovered plate number./DMS