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Friday, June 09, 2006
5 Estrada supporters sue abductors for illegal arrest, torture
* Presidential guards not involved in arrest, torture of 5 Estrada supporters, say head, Armed Forces
FIVE supporters of former President Joseph Estrada on Thursday filed criminal charges against the Intelligence Service of the AFP (Isafp) and PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) involved in their arrest and torture.
The military assured the appearance of the Isafp officers and men for investigation by civilian authorities and if the charges are elevated to the court.
Contrary to the pronouncement of Senator Rodolfo Biazon, Presidential Security Group (PSG) chief Delfin Bangit and Armed Forces public information chief Tristan Kison denied the involvement of the presidential guards in the abduction and torture of the five Estrada supporters, namely, Virgilio Eustaquio, chairman of the pro-Estrada Union of the Masses for Democracy and Justice (UMDJ); Police Officers 3 Ruben Dionisio, Dennis Ebona, Jose Justo Curameng; and Jim Cabauatan.
The five were also linked to a plot to assassinate President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and four Cabinet members.
Dionisio had claimed that he was tortured into admitting he is a communist officer. Military officials earlier said Dionisio is an intelligence officer of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the New People's Army (NPA) in Metro Manila.
Commenting on the filing of case against Isafp personnel, Kison assured that
the military is conducting a separate pre-trial investigation of the eight Isafp personnel, including two officers, preparatory to the conduct of court martial proceedings for inflicting injuries to the UMDJ members.
"We condemn those acts, we respect human rights and international humanitarian law and with that as a premise, we will not resort to those actions. If it all it (torture) happened, it is not sanctioned by the leadership," said Kison.
Kison reiterated that the military would not be making public the names of the eight Isafp personnel involved in the abduction and torture but he said the Senate and the military's Judge Advocate General Office have already been apprised of their identities.
"We are just withholding their names (from public knowledge) to avoid reprisal from the other side, for the security of the Isafp personnel and their family," said Kison.
Bangit, for his part, said he has no plans of conducting any internal investigations as he is 100 percent sure that no member of the PSG was involved in the incident.
He added that those who concocted the story of the involvement of the PSG should be able to produce members of the PSG who were supposedly part of the abduction and torture.
Biazon, who heads the Senate defense committee, said he was informed that at least two PSG members were involved in the operation and that he is in the process of establishing their identities. Biazon did not say where he got the information.
Bangit said the PSG is comprised of professional members and they would continue to be professionals. He said they would never be involved in torture nor would he, as commander, tolerate such incident.
He also said while the members of the PSG were not demoralized, they were in some way affected.
Kison, for his part, "I don't have any idea about his (Biazon) source but as far as the AFP is concerned, the PSG had no participation in that operation, in that arrest," Kison told a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
Kison said the arrest was a joint operation of the Isafp, specifically the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) 15 and the PNP CIDG only.
Kison said he has no inkling as to why the PSG is being linked to the operation. (VR/JMR/Sunnex)
(June 9, 2006 issue)
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