Eyewitness identifies Army major as one of Jonas’s abductors

Eyewitness identifies Army major as one of Jonas’s abductors

The eyewitness, a busboy at the restaurant where Jonas Burgos was abducted, said he was about to help Jonas when a woman and three men approached him, one after another, to tell him not to intervene. One of them he later identified as Maj. Harry Baliaga Jr, who was then assigned to the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Even after knowing by heart the full details of when and how Joseph Jonas Burgos was abducted on April 28, 2007, Mrs. Edita Burgos, his mother, still listened intently as the story was told by an eyewitness.

“It feels like we are back to where we began. Every time there is a hearing, I am always tense. Every time there is a new witness, I always hope that (she or he) would give concrete testimony and lead us to Jonas’s whereabouts,” Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com.

Jeffrey Cabintoy, 27, according to Mrs. Burgos, described in a hearing before the Court of Appeals on September 1 how Jonas’s abductors took him from Ever Gotesco Mall in Commonwealth, Quezon City more than four years ago. Cabintoy, a busboy in the restaurant at that time, identified Maj. Harry Baliaga Jr, who was then assigned to the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as one of the people who took Jonas.

Joseph Jonas Burgos, son of press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr., was abducted on April 28, 2007 inside a mall in Quezon City. His family, friends and comrades continue to search for him to this day.

Cabintoy, who referred to Jonas as “customer” and “the one who was eating,” said Jonas arrived at the restaurant at around lunch time. After a while, he noticed four men talking to the customer.

Mrs. Burgos said she felt uneasy after hearing Cabintoy describe what Jonas said at that time when his abductors approached him: “Uy, oh! May nanggugulo dito. Paalisin niyo. (Hey there are troublemakers here. Please ask them to leave.) ” when his abductors approached him. “All of a sudden, I felt his presence,” Burgos said, “Those could have been his words. When you know a person by heart, you know how he speaks.”.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/07/eyewitness-identifies-army-major-as-one-of-jonass-abductors/