Despite CA ruling, PNP chief says 'no evidence' to charge anyone for Burgos disappearance

From InterAksyon (Apr 2): Despite CA ruling, PNP chief says 'no evidence' to charge anyone for Burgos disappearance

Despite the Court of Appeals ruling holding the Army accountable for the abduction and disappearance of activist Jonas Burgos in 2007, the chief of the Philippine National Police on Tuesday insisted there is not enough evidence to implicate anyone.

"We do not have records of anything. Those are just reports. May statements na ganito, na ganu’n, we do not have that. Kailangan natin ‘yung tunay na imbestigasyon, dalhin natin sa kapulisan, execute ka ng affidavit (We need a genuine investigation, let us bring it to the police, execute an affidavit)" Director General Alan Purisima said.

He said witnesses’ statements should be given to investigators and not to media, and that these statements should be corroborated by other testimony or evidence to produce a strong case.

"What is your basis for saying these things? Based on your perception? Based on what you hear? Ganu’n ba ‘yun? Or nakabase ka sa evidence (Is that it? Or do you base it on evidence)?" he said.

Purisima said the PNP considers Burgos’ disappearance a "missing persons" case, “possibly due to” abduction or kidnapping.

Burgos, son of the late world press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr., was snatched as he lunched at the Ever Gotesco mall in Quezon City on April 28, 2007.

The ruling of Associate Justice Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente, Francisco Diamante and Remedios Salazar-Fernando, which granted a writ of amparo to Burgos’ family, said that, “with regard to authorship” of what it officially declared as a state-sponsored abduction, it holds “ACCOUNTABLE [capitals by the CA]” the Armed Forces of the Philippines “and elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the Philippine Army” for this.

It named former Army Major Harry A. Baliaga Jr. “responsible” for the “enforced disappearance” even as it noted that several abductors are still “at large.”

It also directed the PNP’s Criminal Investigation Division Group to “exercise extraordinary diligence to identify and locate the abductors of Jonas Burgos who are still at large.”

But Purisima took exception to this, saying he did not "totally agree" that the PNP should be accountable for not conducting an exhaustive investigation into the case.

On Monday, the Burgos family submitted new evidence to the Supreme Court, including an "after-apprehension report" and a photo of an apparently dazed Jonas taken shortly after his abduction.

Meanwhile, the AFP is consulting its lawyers on the next steps it will take in handling the Burgos case.

"Through our Judge Advocate General, we have received already a copy of the Court of Appeals decision and as a result of that we have initiated a meeting, our military lawyers have met with the solicitor general. At the meeting, they are working for possible legal options, remedies that may be undertaken as a result of the decision," AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos told reporters.

Burgos said they respect the decision of the Burgos family to revive the case and said they will comply with any court ruling.

Baliaga remains on active duty at Philippine Army headquarters.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/58481/despite-ca-ruling-pnp-chief-says-no-evidence-to-charge-anyone-for-burgos-disappearance