Supreme Court directs AFP to produce Jonas Burgos

Supreme Court directs AFP to produce Jonas Burgos

“He [Aquino] would know what to do. Now is the opportunity to act on the cases of enforced disappearances. I hope he grants this opportunity to show the world that he is sincere in helping victims of human rights violations find justice. He must act immediately,” Mrs. Burgos said.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
 
MANILA – After hearing the news, Mrs. Edita Burgos felt initial euphoria. She said the Supreme Court decision proves the family’s theory that the military was behind the abduction of her son Jonas.
In an en banc resolution dated July 5, the high court upheld the findings of the Commission on Human Rights and has directed the military to produce Jonas Burgos. The members of the high court unanimously concurred with the resolution written by Associate Justice Arturo Brion.

Burgos was abducted April 28, 2007 while he was having lunch at a restaurant inside the Ever Gotesco Mall in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

“The decision is a welcome development in the campaign to stop impunity and to make the perpetrators of human rights violations accountable for their crimes. We are glad that the SC seems to be delivering a message that is loud and clear – that it is now time, belated as it is, to give justice to the kin of those missing like Jonas Burgos and the two university students,” Edre Olalia, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) secretary general, said.

Aquino urged to act

Mrs. Burgos holds a photo of her son Jonas. (File photo / bulatlat.com)

Mrs. Burgos said that as commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the ball is now in the hands of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

“He would know what to do. Now is the opportunity to act on the cases of enforced disappearances. I hope he grants this opportunity to show the world that he is sincere in helping victims of human rights violations find justice. He must act immediately,” Mrs. Burgos said.

In the same vein, human rights group Karapatan called on Aquino to use his power as commander-in-chief of the AFP to order the military to abide by the Supreme Court’s order to surface Jonas Burgos and ensure that those responsible for his abduction and disappearance will be punished. “Only then can decisions of the Courts have teeth and effect the lessening of, if not totally ending, impunity,” Karapatan said.

Meanwhile, NUPL, a group of human rights lawyers, noted Aquino’s silence on human rights issues. “ The group said that amid the recent decisions of the Supreme Court finding the AFP responsible for the abduction of missing activists, Aquino, as the commander-in-chief, “is not predisposed to make a policy that will come after human rights violators and discourage future perpetrators.”..... MORE

Source: Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/07/15/supreme-court-directs-afp-to-produce-jonas-burgos/