Military officials deny having Jonas Burgos in custody

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and other military officials insisted Wednesday that  missing activist Jonas Burgos was not in their custody.

The Supreme Court (SC) issued a writ of habeas corpus yesterday ordering the military to produce Burgos within the week and present him to the Court of Appeals (CA) on Friday.  The petition had been filed by mother Edita Burgos, who claimed the military had arbitrarily detained her son.

In response, Philippiine Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres, Jr. said the military doesn't have Burgos and added that, "if he was with the military, there's no reason not to bring him out."

Gonzales, on the other hand, told reporters, ""No orders are necessary. We've been looking for him. I've been looking for him, honest."

'We don't have him, so how can we produce him?" he said.

Burgos, son of the late journalist and press freedom fighter Jose “Joe” Burgos, was kidnapped by several armed men in a restaurant inside a Quezon City mall on April 10.

His mother, Edita Burgos, claimed there are indications that her son was snatched by the military, citing witnesses who saw Jonas being beaten up inside the shopping mall before he was dragged into a waiting van.

After months of waiting, Edita filed a 16-page petition for habeas corpus urging the military and the police to show cause why her son is being detained.