SC clears military on activist’s kidnap, torture

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has cleared the military in the alleged kidnapping and torture of Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas in May 2009 in La Paz town in Tarlac.

In a three-page resolution released earlier this week, the SC affirmed the findings of the Court of Appeals (CA) that there was no ample evidence to prove Roxas’ claim that soldiers were behind her ordeal.

The SC adopted the CA’s recommendation for the dismissal of charges “against all the public respondents who, despite the newly presented evidence by the CHR (Commission on Human Rights), are still not shown, much less proven, to be liable or accountable for the abduction and torture of petitioner, without prejudice, nonetheless, to any evidence that may surface or be eventually discovered in the future against any of them.”

It ordered law enforcement agencies to conduct further investigation into the case, affirming the CA report.

But the SC modified the recommendation of the appellate court, which heard the amparo petition of Roxas, for the provisional dismissal of the case.

The SC held that the petition must instead be archived “pursuant to Section 20 of the Rules of the Writ of Amparo” pending further investigation.

In February 2011, the CHR said there was “insufficient evidence” to support Roxas’ claim that soldiers held her in captivity and subjected her to physical and mental maltreatment in a house in Tarlac in May 2009.

In the same resolution, the CHR said it has received information “that indicates the possibility that members of the NPA (New People’s Army) committed the kidnapping and other human rights violations on Roxas.”

The military earlier had welcomed the CHR’s findings on Roxas’ kidnapping, while the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has direct leadership over the NPA, had denied any involvement in the incident.

Even Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who chaired the CHR at the time Roxas’ case was investigated, attested to the lack of evidence against the military in this case.

“There is no showing or proof that the military was involved so practically military involvement was ruled out. But there is also no categorical finding as to who did it. There is insinuation or indication that it could be the NPA but there’s no categorical proof, that’s why the CHR wants the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to pursue the investigation,” she said.