Military orders gathering of documents on Burgos case

MANILA, Philippines - The Army leadership has ordered the gathering of all documents pertaining to operations conducted in 2007 in light of the recent court order on the case of missing activist Jonas Burgos.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes has ordered his staff to prepare the documents so these would be ready when needed by investigators.

“General Coballes has issued a written and verbal directive. All documents pertaining to the 2007 operations of units that helped in locating Jonas will be collected and sealed,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said yesterday.

The instruction was directed to selected staff members in the Army headquarters, the 7th Infantry Division, the 7th Military Intelligence Battalion, and the 56th Infantry Battalion.

Cabangbang said Coballes made the directive after the Court of Appeals had ordered the military and the police to continue their probe on the Burgos case.

He said there should be no difficulties producing the military personnel tagged in the case.

“If they are still on duty, we can easily summon them,” Cabangbang said.

Armed men reportedly snatched Burgos at a shopping mall in Quezon City in 2007. He was allegedly dragged to a Toyota Revo van whose license plates were traced to another vehicle earlier impounded by the military in Bulacan.

Earlier, the Court of Appeals ruled that the military, particularly the Army, is accountable for the enforced disappearance of Burgos.

The appellate court also tagged Maj. Harry Baliaga Jr. as the one responsible for the activist’s disappearance. Baliaga is working for the Adjutant’s Office in Army headquarters.

The court also directed security forces to continue their investigation until the persons responsible are brought to justice.

Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the military to submit a report on the whereabouts of soldiers implicated in the case.

The ruling stemmed from a petition of Burgos’ mother Edita asking the high court to order the Court of Appeals to reopen the case of her son, saying there are new pieces of evidence that can pin down those behind his disappearance.

Edita had presented documents entitled “After Apprehension Report,” a “Psycho Social Processing Report” and an “Autobiography of Jonas Burgos” that were supposedly taken from confidential Army records.

She claimed the documents would prove that the military was behind her son’s abduction.

Military officials have vowed to comply with the court rulings, saying they also want to know the truth about the case.