Saturday, May 26, 2007 3 Army men reprimanded for 'negligence' over missing car plate
* License plate used on vehicle involved in Burgos abduction
ARMED Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Thursday said he has ordered the admonition of three Army officers for negligence in connection with the disappearance of peasant leader Jonas Joseph Burgos, son of the late Malaya publisher and freedom icon Jose Burgos.
Esperon identified the three officers who are due to be admonished as former 56th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander Noel Clement; his successor Lieutenant Colonel Melquiades Feliciano; and 69th IB commander Edison Caga.
He made the revelation shortly after the assumption of Major General Pedrito Cadungog as the new Armed Forces deputy chief of staff. Cadungog replaced Lieutenant General Christie Datu who has reached the retirement age of 56.
Esperon said he ordered Army Chief Romeo Tolentino to effect the "administrative admonition" on the officers on the recommendation of the office of the Provost Marshal General, which looked into the administrative aspect of the case.
The Provost Marshal General has submitted to Esperon its investigation report early this week. Esperon said the recommendation was reviewed by office of the military's Judge Advocate General.
Clement was then the 56th IB commander when the XLT jeep was seized and impounded at the battalion headquarters in Norzagaray town in June last year. He was named commander of the Security and Escorts Battalion at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio and replaced by Feliciano in January.
In November last year, the entire 56th IB went temporarily pulled out of Bulacan for a unit training. Elements of the 69th IB took over the Army installation in Norzagaray until the 56th IB finished its training last March.
According to Esperon, investigators of the office of the Provost Marshal General have recommended the admonition of the three Army officers after a thorough investigation that established their negligence.
Esperon said administrative admonition of officers is justified under the Article of War 105 which details the powers of commanders to impose punishments on erring personnel. He said administrative admonition is lighter than the admonition under the punitive rules. "Under punitive provisions of Article of War 105 would disbar you from promotions. But this time, time it's not yet at that stage, it's the administrative admonition," he sad, adding administrative admonition are reflected on the officers records.
However, Esperon said that to be administratively admonished is serious enough. "To be punished under the Article of War 105 is something to reckon with. It's not actually the promotion (that is affected) but it affects your record," he said.
The Philippine Army conducted its own investigation on the issue of the plate number. Army officials have said that the investigation is already through but they refused to divulge the contents of the investigation report.
Esperon said the military is not investigating on the criminal aspect of the case because it might have legal repercussions. "It might even go to the extent of some technicalities on double jeopardy so the criminal aspect of the matter will have to be left to the PNP," he said.
On whether they have established if the plate number was indeed stolen, Esperon said: "We are not even making that as a definite statement. Lost is different from stolen. If stolen, that has yet to be established," he said.
Meanwhile, two Army enlisted men summoned by police investigators to shed light on the missing license plate surfaced in the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame on Friday.
Corporal Castro Bugalon and Private First Class Jose Villena, both assigned with the 56th IB stationed in Norzagaray, Bulacan showed up at the office of the National Capital Region Criminal Investigation and Detection Office (NCRCIDO) to allay apprehensions that they are in hiding and to deny allegations that they are refusing to cooperate in the investigation.
The CIDG earlier gave the two military men and their former commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Milquiades Feliciano until May 31, 2007 to give their statements regarding the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the license plates TAB-194 belonging to an impounded vehicle in the custody of the 56th IB.
According to NCRCIDO Chief Jose Napoleon Coronel, both Bugalon and Villena assured investigators of their presence on Monday to officially give their respective statements.
The two military men, who came in complete uniform, said they are "willing to cooperate with the investigators" and will be accompanied by the superior officer when they return on Monday.
PNP director for investigation Geary Barias said the gesture of support from the two Army enlisted men is expected to hasten completion of the ongoing investigation.
The CIDG has established that the missing license plate belonged to an AUV registered to Mauro Mudlong which was impounded by Bugalon and Villena on June 24, 2006 allegedly for "transporting lumber without permit." The vehicle has since been in the custody of the 56th IB headquarters in Norzagaray.
The missing license plate TAB-194 was described by witnesses as the plate number of the getaway vehicle of the abductors of Jonas. (VR/Sunnex)
