CA OKs promotion of Army general in Burgos case, 68 others

MANILA, Philippines - The promotions of 69 senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday, including that of twice deferred military intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Eduardo Año.

A last appeal by Edita Burgos, the mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos who was allegedly abducted by soldiers, failed to convince the members of the CA not to confirm Año’s promotion.

Burgos claimed that Año was involved in the disappearance of Jonas, who was suspected by the military as being a communist New People’s Army rebel. 

At the time of Jonas’ disappearance, Año was head of the Intelligence Service Group of the Philippine Army.

Año is now head of the Intelligence Service of the AFP.

“We reiterate our opposition to the confirmation of the promotion of Brig. Gen. Eduardo Año. We are against the promotion of Brig. Gen. Año because he is one of the suspects in the enforced disappearance of my son Jonas Joseph T. Burgos, on April 28, 2007 at Ever Gotesco Mall, Quezon City,” Burgos said in her statement, which she read before the CA yesterday.

Burgos appealed to the legislators belonging to the CA that Año, as “a human rights violator,” does not deserve to be confirmed by the commission.

“On the feast of St. Matthew, one of the evangelists, who proclaimed the truth, my prayer is that the Commission on Appointments will not allow itself to be manipulated to be part of the cover-up by confirming General Año,” Mrs. Burgos said.

The confirmation of Año’s promotion has been deferred twice, the first time in December last year and more recently last Sept. 4.

In both instances, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III informed the CA that he wanted to raise some questions to Año but the senator failed to show up at the hearing.

Año has maintained his innocence in the alleged abduction of Burgos and that he was never among those investigated in that case.

With Osmeña nowhere in sight and with no other member of the CA manifesting any objection, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas moved for the confirmation of Año’s promotion to brigadier general.

Mrs. Burgos lamented that there was nothing else that she could do to stop the confirmation of Año’s promotion but that she was expecting the officer to come clean and admit to his participation in the disappearance of her son. – With Alexis Romero