Rights group lauds CA decision on Burgos case

MANILA, Philippines - Human rights group Karapatan yesterday said the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling on the enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos confirmed their position that the military is behind the act as shown by evidence and testimonies.

The CA found the military accountable for the disappearance of Burgos and declared Maj. Harry Baliaga as the one responsible for the act.

“Sadly it took six long years for the government to acknowledge this,” Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of Karapatan, said.

Palabay said the CA decision is also an affirmation of the practice of state security forces to forcibly take persons whom they brand as “enemies of the state,” a practice that was conducted during the years of the Marcos dictatorship and the Arroyo regime, and which  is still being enforced under President Aquino’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.

Karapatan claimed it has documented 14 victims of enforced disappearance under the Aquino administration.

“The decision is a positive development for the Burgos family and other families of the disappeared,” said Lorena Santos, secretary-general of Families of Desaparecidos for Justice.    

“This decision may help push for criminal charges against Maj. Harry Baliaga and others involved in the abduction and disappearance of Burgos. We hope this may also lead to the surfacing of Jonas,” Santos said.

Karapatan expects “a full disclosure of other cases of enforced disappearance that Baliaga, his military unit, and his superiors, including Gen. Eduardo Año, were involved in,” Palabay said. 

Año was recently appointed by President Aquino as chief of the intelligence service of the Armed Forces.

Baliaga was under the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army which was once under the command of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr.

Palparan has been accused of involvement in numerous cases of human rights violations, such as the disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in Central Luzon and the killing of Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy in Southern Luzon.

Palabay warned that the identification of Baliaga should not end up like the case of Palparan, who remains at large more than one year after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

“We hope that the CA decision does not end up to be just a PR hype for the Aquino government like what happened to Palparan. The victims and their families deserve nothing but justice,” she said.