Confirmation of ISAFP chief endorsed amid objections of Jonas Burgos' mother

From InterAksyon (Sep 25): Confirmation of ISAFP chief endorsed amid objections of Jonas Burgos' mother

The subcommittee on national defense of the Committee on Appointments endorsed on Wednesday the confirmation of Brigadier General Eduardo Ano as chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The endorsement to the CA plenary to confirm Ano's appointment was made after the subcommittee set aside the continuing objections of Edita Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos and widow of press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr.

Ano is among the military officers the Burgos family believes ordered the abduction and subsequent disappearance of Jonas, who was snatched from a Quezon City mall on April 28, 2007.

Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Farinas moved for the endorsement of Ano's confirmation, to which there were no objections.

Farinas and other members of the committee explained they could no longer bar Ano's confirmation because the Department of Justice cleared him on September 3 of any complicity in the abduction of Jonas, pinning the blame only on Army Major Harry Baliaga, who led the unit that snatched the activist.

After the defense subcommittee hearing, the chairman, Capiz Representative Antonio del Rosario, counseled Ano to do everything he can to find Jonas, if only to prove his sincerity.

Several members of the subcommittee approached Ms. Burgos to tell her they sympathized with her but had no choice but to vote for the endorsement.

Although she acknowledged the endorsement of Ano's confirmation as a setback, Ms. Burgos said this would not stop her from continuing her quest for justice and for her son.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/71468/confirmation-of-isafp-chief-endorsed-amid-objections-of-jonas-burgos-mother