2 other 'Morong 43' members belie military torture

MANILA, Philippines - Two more members of the so-called “Morong 43” denied that they experienced torture in the hands of the military while in detention in Tanay, Rizal, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Jenilyn Pizaro and Dario Abarrientos, two of the 43 suspected communist rebels nabbed in Morong town, also in Rizal, last Feb. 6, also expressed their desire to have a new lawyer to defend them.

“The two are now in a different custodial facility. Authorities did not say where for their own protection,” Brawner said in a text message.

This development came two days after the military announced that three of the “Morong 43” had signed an affidavit stating that they were not tortured while in detention.

The three, identified as Valentino Paulino, Cherylyn Tawagon, and Eleonor Carandang, also wanted to tap new legal counsels to represent them.

Military officials said the three refused to sign the complaint prepared by their lawyer, Romeo Capulong, that alleged that human rights violations took place in their detention cell.

“They did not want to sign because the allegations are not true. Instead, they made a counter-affidavit and that was presented to the fiscal. In that counter-affidavit, they said they were not tortured,” Brawner said in a previous interview.

He also clarified that the suspects were not forced to refute the allegations against the military.  

Meanwhile, the AFP said the scheduled arraignment of the 43 suspects did not push through yesterday due to “opposing arguments,” Brawner said.

The military alleged that the “Morong 43” were conducting a seminar on making explosives when they were arrested. Various firearms and substances used to create bombs were said to have been seized during the raid.

The justice department has filed charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and violation of the election gun ban against the suspects.

Supporters of the “Morong 43,” however, claimed that they were rural health workers attending a lecture on medical care.

They also alleged that the group experienced torture and that a number of women among them were sexually molested in their detention cell.