[In the news] ‘Burgos case to serve as litmus test for AFP’-PhilStar.com

‘Burgos case to serve as litmus test for AFP’
By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star)
May 4, 2013

MANILA, Philippines - The disappearance of activist Jonas Burgos will serve as the litmus test for the military’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Loretta Ann Rosales said yesterday.

Rosales made the statement in reaction to the move of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), on behalf of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to file a Motion for Partial Reconsideration to the March 18 decision by the Court of Appeals that held Army Maj. Harry Baliaga responsible, and the AFP accountable, for the enforced disappearance of Burgos.

The military is asking the court to reverse its finding that the AFP, as an institution, failed to act with extraordinary diligence in the face of allegations that military personnel took Burgos on April 28, 2007.

“While everyone, including the military, is entitled to due process, asking the court for reconsideration on this specific point is a different thing and may be taken as an indication that the military as an institution is sticking to the story that Jonas fell victim to an internal CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) purge,” Rosales said.

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