Thursday, July 26, 2007 Military cannot show Burgos to court
* Says it does not have custody of missing activist
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday it missing activist Jonas Joseph Burgos cannot be produced on Friday before the court on orders of the Supreme Court (SC).
In a press briefing at the military's general headquarters Camp Aguinaldo, AFP public information officer Bartolome Bacarro repeated that Burgos, son of the late Malaya publisher and press freedom icon Jose Burgos, is not in their custody.
Bacarro said while military officials would be appearing before the court on Friday, Burgos will not be with them and they will merely stress that they are not responsible for the kidnapping of the victim.
Burgos was abducted by alleged military personne; at the Ever Gotesco mall in Quezon City last April 28. The Burgos family has implicated members of the Army's 56th Infantry Battalion as involved in the kidnapping.
"Definitely this coming Friday, we will appear before the court and we will respectfully reiterate our previous statements that Jonas Burgos is not in our custody and that we are not aware of his whereabouts. The bottom-line there is we will comply with the orders for us to appear the hearing on Friday," said Bacarro.
He said the Armed Forces is happy with the decision of the SC because it has given the 120,000-strong military establishment another chance to clear its name before the public.
Bacarro said military intelligence operatives are even helping in the effort to locate Burgos. However, the effort - which include the Intelligence Service of the AFP - have so far yielded negative results.
"Remember that even during the early stages of the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, the chief of staff, has directed intelligence units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to gather information and convey such information to the PNP which is the lead in conducting the investigation," said Bacarro.
Bacarro said the military wants the military resolve the soonest time possible because the military is being dragged into the trouble.
Sought for a comment, acting defense secretary and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said: "We don't have him, so how can we produce him? We will try, we will try producing (him) but I don't know how."
The Philippine Army (PA), for its part, maintained that it is not into the business of abduction.
Army spokesman Ernesto Torres said Jonas is not in the Army custody.
"The military organization has no policy or not into business of abducting," said Torres, adding however that the Army has yet to receive a formal order from the SC to produce (Jonas) Burgos before the court on Friday.
"If indeed Jonas Burgos is with the military, there is no reason for us not to bring him out? If Jonas Burgos is with us, we (military) don't have any reason to bring him out on that day," Torres also said.
At present, Torres said the Army establishment is continuing to locate Burgos.
Incidentally, it was the Army leadership which said Burgos is a member of the communist New People's Army (NPA).
The military is trying to defeat the NPA, which has about 7,200 members as of December last year, before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's term ends in 2010. The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
Torres said initial Army efforts, specifically by elements of its intelligence units, to locate Burgos have so far yielded negative results.
Torres said they will continue searching for Burgos in the next two days before the Friday deadline set by the SC. (VR/Sunnex)
