Mother of missing activist decries continuing cover-up

Mother of missing activist decries continuing cover-up

“I’m about to cry. It’s been five years and we are not even closer to finding Jonas.” – Mrs. Edita Burgos
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – For almost five years now, Mrs. Edita Burgos has been groping in the dark. Searching for her missing son Jonas,Mrs. Burgos faced one cover-up after another.

Mrs. Burgos went to the courts and availed of every legal remedy there is, with the hope of finding her third child who was abducted by suspected state agents on April 28, 2007.

Like any other hearing she religiously attended, Mrs. Burgos sat silently as the Court of Appeals (CA) Special 7th Division began its proceedings, February 28. It is the same court that heard and denied her writ of amparo petition four years ago.

“I’m about to cry,” Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com shortly after the hearing. “It’s been five years and we are not even closer to finding Jonas.”

After the CA first dismissed the petition filed by Mrs. Burgos in July 2008, Mrs. Burgos went to the Supreme Court. After almost two years, the high court issued a resolution in July 2010 directing the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the disappearance of Jonas after noting significant lapses in the police investigation. Before that, Mrs. Burgos said they sought the help of the CHR but the investigation was closed when she was “unjustly accused of being uncooperative.”

In its investigation, the CHR led by Commissioner Jose Mamauag found that the abduction of Jonas is “not a simple case of kidnapping done by some individuals within the military, but is, in fact, a part of the entire counter-insurgency program of the past administration wherein both military and police forces played a crucial role in its enforcement.”

The CHR has asked the high court to direct Army Lt. Harry Baliaga Jr. to produce Jonas. Baliaga, formerly assigned to the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA), was identified by witnesses as one of those who abducted Jonas. The CHR recommended the filing of kidnapping charges against Baliaga. The commission also urged the high court to grant the petition for writ of amparo filed by Mrs. Burgos.....MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/03/01/mother-of-missing-activist-decries-continuing-cover-up/