The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Tuesday challenged President Benigno Aquino III to order the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which the Court of Appeals held accountable for the enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos, to disclose all relevant information on the abduction of the missing activist.
“There is a renewed clamor for the AFP to surface Jonas and to reveal all information related to his abduction. As commander-in-chief, it is the duty of Aquino to ensure that the AFP cooperates fully with the courts and other institutions,” Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said in a statement.
“Aquino's silence or lack of interest can mean that he is tolerating the cover-up,” Reyes added. “So far the statement made by the AFP spokesman -- that the AFP will cooperate -- sounds more like an April Fool’s joke than a declaration of policy.”
Reyes’ statement came a day after the Burgos family filed an ex parte motion before the Supreme Court based on newly discovered evidence that the military was responsible for seizing Jonas on April 28, 2007.
The evidence included a photo of Burgos soon after the abduction, an after-apprehension report, a psychosocial report and a “biography” of the activist.
Prior to the CA ruling, the AFP insisted it had nothing to do with the disappearance of Burgos, son of the late world press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr., claiming he was a communist rebel officer who had fallen victim to a “purge” within the revolutionary movement.
“Aquino must give clear and firm instructions to AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista to fully disclose all information on the abduction of Jonas,” Reyes said.
“The AFP can do this even without any court order,” he stressed. “The AFP cannot feign ignorance. The AFP must reveal the truth. Already, there is new evidence coming to light pointing to the involvement of the military.”
“There is no doubt in the minds of the court, and in the minds of the public, that the AFP is involved in the abduction. The big question is, when will the AFP finally reveal the truth about the fate of Jonas? Where is Jonas?” Reyes said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/58448/order-afp-to-tell-truth-on-jonas-bayan-dares-pnoy
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-New Patriotic Alliance) is the main CPP umbrella front organization in the Phiippines with chapters active nationwide. CPP front groups have been fairly successful in manipulating public opinion and the court system as part of an overarching propaganda campaign intended to discredit the Philippine military on the issue of human rights.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be little doubt that Jonas Burgos was part of the underground movement. A detailed account of why the military is suspected of abducting him is set forth in an April 2012 Rappler article by Glenda Gloria entitled "Why would the Army abduct Jonas Burgos?" (See the following URL:
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/4466-why-would-the-army-abduct-jonas-burgos)
Here is an excerpt from Glenda Gloria's analysis:
"Ka Ramon made it to Hapag Kainan at noon. He was taking his lunch when 6 men and one woman entered the restaurant and suddenly grabbed him. Ka Ramon screamed, "aktibista lang po ako, aktibista lang po ako." A restaurant employee tried to help, but he was stopped by one of the men who said they were trying to arrest a drug dealer.
Ka Ramon was dragged all the way to a waiting Isuzu vehicle, which was later discovered to have been impounded by the same battalion that Abletes belonged to. Ka Ramon has not been seen since.
In police and military dossiers, Ka Ramon is Jonas Joseph Burgos, son of press freedom icon Joe Burgos and one of the country's most famous deseparecido (disappeared). He's now 42. His mother Edita believes -- and hopes -- he is still alive.
That he was trapped in this web of infiltration and counterintelligence was first raised by his family and friends a few months after his abduction. We wrote about this in a Newsbreak investigative report in October 2007.
The Burgos family is not denying Jonas's links to the communist underground.
The military is not denying that Burgos is Ka Ramon. But it is denying it had anything to do with his enforced disappearance."