Army battalion under probe for Burgos case

An Army battalion based in Bulacan has been placed under investigation by the Provost Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in connection with the disappearance of the son of the late newspaper publisher Jose Burgos Jr.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said military investigators would go to the headquarters of the 56th Infantry Battalion based in Norzagaray town to look into reports that the license plates used by the suspects in their vehicle when they abducted Jonas Joseph Burgos were traced to an impounded vehicle at the battalion’s headquarters.

Burgos was eating with two female companions in the Hapag Kainan restaurant at Ever Gotesco Mall last April 28 when several men who introduced themselves as policemen but were in civilian clothes snatched him.

JL Burgos, younger brother of the missing activist, said they are now inclined to believe in the possible involvement of the AFP as "all evidence" appeared to be pointing to them.

"Nung nakaraan, hindi kami nagtuturo kasi wala talaga kami suspek. Pero ngayon, lahat ng ebidensya ay nagtuturo sa militar (Before, we did not point to anyone because we really didn’t have a suspect. But now, all evidence seems to point to the military)," JL told The Star in an interview.

According to JL, circumstantial evidence already pointing to the military was reinforced by DENR documents that indicated the military’s possession of the controversial vehicle which originally bore the plate number TAB 194.

"The family now challenges the sincerity of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in the wake of this evidence, to fulfill its mandate and take action this issue," he said.

56th IB commander Col. Feliciano Melquiades, however, denied involvement in the disappearance of Jay-jay.

He said that the plate number of an old jeep impounded at his headquarters in Norzagaray was stolen from his camp and apparently attached by still unknown suspects to the Toyota Revo used in the abduction of Burgos at the Ever Gotesco mall in Quezon City last April 28.

Melquiades, who assumed the 56th IB command from Col. Noel Clement last January, admitted, however, that the vehicle plate marked TAB 194 had indeed belonged to an old jeep which has remained impounded at the 56th IB since last year.

Melquiades said that the plate was apparently stolen when the entire battalion left their camp to undergo retraining at Camp Teves in San Miguel, Bulacan.

"The entire battalion was in San Miguel from November 23 and returned only last March 8," he said.

But Melquiades claimed that he and his men did not notice that the plate of the impounded jeep was missing until last Monday when investigators from the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrived to check on leads to the abduction of Burgos.

"That was the only time we knew that the plate was missing. The other parts of the jeep, such as the headlights, were also gone. The jeep is really unserviceable," he said.

Melquiades said he suspected that some residents of the nearby Towerville resettlement for Metro Manila squatters could have looted the jeep while his battalion was undergoing retraining in San Miguel.

"There’s a group there called Kadamay, and I deployed some troops to follow up on the case (of the looted jeep)," he said.

In an interview with The Star, Melquiades also said he had no idea yet as to how the plate of the jeep landed in the hands of the suspects in the abduction.

Police officers investigating this case, however, have some ideas of their own.

"The implication (of the information) is that some members of the military could be behind the abduction, but let us not jump to conclusions. We have to check and counter check all the information," said a police official privy to the Burgos investigation.

Cause for concern

When asked if allegations linking the military to the Burgos abduction were cause for concern, Esperon said: "Oh yes, that’s why we’re investigating the matter."

"Today, my Provost Martial group will go into a formal investigation of the matter. Until then, let us leave it at that. We are doing our best to get more information," Esperon said.

But even before the investigation could start, Esperon himself again denied allegations made by activists and militant groups that soldiers were behind Burgos’ abduction.

"I do not see, I did not see any connection," Esperon said when asked if soldiers were involved in the incident.

"The plate number, how it came about, that is one of the primary focus of this investigation," he said.

The Provost Martial is a military unit that conducts preliminary investigation of cases involving military personnel.

It is also the same military unit that recommends the filing of charges to the military’s prosecution arm, the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO), against erring military personnel.

Esperon also said he has tasked Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Major General Delfin Bangit to meet with Edith Burgos, the mother of the missing activist, to get more information.

JL said the family met with Maj. Gen. Bangit the other day and that the military official denied any involvement of ISAFP in the disappearance of his older brother.

Bangit also reportedly assured the family that ISAFP would assist in finding Burgos, who is said to be affiliated with the Alyansang Magbubukid ng Bulacan, a local chapter of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).

Open letter

As this developed, JL issued an open letter to his brother, hoping that his abductors would allow him to read the newspapers.

In his open letter, JL, a visual artist and video editor who was among the first members of UGAT Lahi, assured his brother that the entire family remains unfazed by the incident and would continue to be unfazed.

"Kung anuman ang ginagawa sa yo para balewalain ang pagkatao mo ay alam mong mas tao ka kaysa sa pinapamukha nila sa yo. Tibayan mo ang loob mo dahil nasa tama kang paninindigan. Huwag na huwag kang mag-aalala sa amin. Ayos kami. At pinagyayabang ka namin. Isa kang mabuting tao at sinisigaw namin yan sa buong mundo. (Whatever they are doing to trample on your dignity, remember that you are a better person that what they would want you to believe. Be strong because you are in the right. Do not worry about us. We are fine. And we are proud of you. You are a good person and we shout that to the whole world)," he wrote.

It has been 12 days since Burgos was taken by the still unidentified persons, and authorities have yet to give any information on the whereabouts or condition of the victim.

Prevent whitewash

Meanwhile, militants pressed for an immediate full-blown independent investigation and urgent relief of Philippine Army officials at the 56th IB.

KMP information officer Carl Ala noted that the immediate relief of military officials at the 56th IB would prevent a "whitewash" in the investigation.

"The fact that the vehicle used to abduct Burgos was traced to the 56th IB based in Bulacan further bolsters our firm belief that it was indeed the military who abducted him.  He may have been tailed by his abductors from Bulacan, where he conducted an agricultural training, and they just waited for a chance to get him," Ala said.

"Impounded vehicles should also be carefully registered and investigated especially in areas where military abductions are rampant because it seems that they are using them for this dastardly fascist crime," he added.

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, for his part, believed that "no amount of lies can absolve the Philippine Army and its 56th IB from their criminal responsibility" on the disappearance of Burgos because the recent revelation of what he described as "damning evidence" pins down the military.

Mariano called on President Arroyo to now order the military to admit the abduction and surface Burgos.

"Instead of issuing blanket denials or statements to cover up the military’s responsibility, Mrs. Arroyo must issue direct orders to the AFP hierarchy, down to the military commanders in the field, to surface Jonas," Mariano said.  "Any attempt by the commander-in-chief to exonerate the military will further heighten the culture of impunity that has emboldened the perpetrators." – Jaime Laude, Ding Cervantes, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Katherine G. Adraneda