Mrs B last play date

Pinky Amador plays Mrs. B on Tuesday, 28 April, 8 pm at Ten02 Bar & Resto, Sct. Ybardollaza cor Timog Ave., Q.C. The 1 act play which premiered last week in the same venue is about the struggles of Mrs. Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, and the plight of her family in their continued search for Jonas. The last play date falls on the 2nd aniverssary of the abduction of Jonas. Tickest are available at the gate.

New case surprises Burgos Ma

A new case was filed recently for the enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos. The petitioners were the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Edita T. Burgos, mother of the missing activist. Only, Mrs. Burgos said she never filed such complaint.

"This new complaint was filed without my concurrence or support," Edita said. "This is obviously to cover up the participation of the 56th Infantry Battalion and the Intelligence Service Group (ISG) in the abduction of my son," she added.

"This case never seizes to amaze me," Edita Burgos said. The mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos was referring to the subpoena she received days before her son's birthday. Mrs. Burgos disclosed that in a letter dated March 5, 2008, Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony D. Fadullon has stated that there is no pendng investigation on the disappearance of Jonas as no case has yet been referred by the Philippine National Police.

Mrs. Burgos filed only two cases which have been decided by the Court of Appeals--Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Writ of Amparo. Both cases are now under review by the Supreme Court.

The latest complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) titled CIDG-Editha T. Burgos vs. Delfin De Guzman, et al. I.S. No. 2008-846. It is seeking to charge De Guzman for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Jonas.

Guzman was a suspected NPA leader who was arrested in Norzagaray, Bulacan in 2006, a year before Jonas was abducted.
Guzman was pinpointed as mastermind of the abduction by Melissa Reyes, Emerito Lipio and Marlon Manuel.

"The statements of the three were most likely the basis for the latest case", Mrs. Burgos surmised. Reyes, Lipio, and Manuel were presented by the police to the media in 2007 as key witnesses to the abduction of Jonas.

Earlier reports, however, revealed that each of the witnesses had already been under the custody of the police or military before of Jonas Abduction.

Lipio, along with six other militant members of the driver's federation Piston in Central Luzon, was abducted in Angeles City on July 23, 2006. Among the units implicated in the abduction were the Army's 56th and 69th IB. The abducted activists were eventually released, except for Lipio. He remained missing and surfaced only when he was presented to the media on August 28, 2007.

Reyes Is a rebel-returnee who, based on her testimony, reports regularly to the military.

"I read the affidavits of these three persons" Edita said. "But the overwhelming evidences point towards the 56th IB and the ISG."

Jonas was tagged by the military as a member of the NPA. He was abducted April 28, 2007 by four armed men and a woman while having lunch at the Hapag Kainan in Ever Gotesco. Witnesses said that Jonas was dragged into a maroon Toyota Revo van with Plate number TAB 194. Earlier investigation of the PNP-CIDG traced the plate number to an impounded vehicle at the 56th IB headquarters Philippine Army Camp in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Jonas is a member of Alyansang Magbubukid ng Bulacan who teaches organic farming to farmers. He has been missing for 701 days and turns 39 years old today (March 29, 2009).

Christmas 2008

As I was going through the old copies of Malaya, I came across the following editorial which was written by my father, Jose G. Burgos, Jr. for the WE Forum newspaper in 1978. For several years, it has been the main opinion piece for the Christmas issue of WE Forum and Malaya newspapers.

Reading the piece again gave me goose bumps as I struggled to keep tears from flowing. Memories of Dads flashed through my mind and I could almost feel his arm around my shoulder as I read on.

After 30 years, I asked myself: Has anything changed? I guess not. I believe that in some aspects, things have gotten worse.

I hope this article would touch your hearts as it has touched mine. Have a meaningful Christmas!


Peachy Burgos




JESUS CHRIST SUBVERSIVE
By: Jose G. Burgos, Jr.

Two thousand eight years ago, an out of town couple --the woman heavy with child--was turned away from an inn and the wife was forced to give birth to a baby boy inside a barren, dingy cave which served as a stable. This baby was thus born a squatter.

The boy grew up soon enough. His name was Jesus.

He wandered about the land, preaching about the rights of every human being to live, to love, and to learn. He was , in fact, an advocate of human rights.

In every town and city, but most particularly in depressed areas, Jesus, the squatter that He was, mingled with the lowly crowds --little people-- the laborers, the fisherman, the unemployed, the bums of His day.

He wanted people to open their eyes and witness the deprivations around them. He urged them to speak their minds out on every conceivable issue of the day. He opted for a free exchange of opinion and ideas, convinced that the truth will make men free. He was neither fettered by conventions nor undaunted by the talks about his sanity.

He did not possess any wealth. in fact, He was considered a vagrant. But the people who believe in Him, in His ideas, in His credibility and honesty, offered food and shelter to Him and His growing number of proteges who were known as apostles.

in speaking out His vision, many people in the established order, and those who wanted to maintain the status quo, collaborated to persecute and prosecute Him.

He was called a lot of names. Activist. Non-conformist. Professional Agitator. Subversive.

Because He believe in justice, He let Himself be haled before the courts to face His accusers. His apostles were rash. They wanted to revolt. But He cautioned them. They laid down their arms.

What were the charges against him?

That He conspired to overthrow the government, that He protested vehemently against the excesses and corruption of the oligarchs and power-weilders, against oppressive and abusive decrees and laws.

Hi trial was a mockery. And while under detention, He was tortured and humiliated.

But He took all this degradation calmly. for every abuse heaped upon Him, He gained added strength. he did not loses His spirit. After all, He was fighting for the ultimate in human endeavor.

The power-hungry, the military, the elite, the "malakas", the oppressors and the suppressors, had their way. He was sentenced to die--on the cross.

Jesus Christ fought--and died--for freedom, for justice, for love.

On December 25, we commemorate his birth anniversary. And as we, Filipinos, remember Him, let us ask ourselves: Was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ worth it? Do we have freedom, justice, truth, and love in our minds?

Sa Lahat ng Sulok--a photo essay

We thank Leonard Reyes for his photo essay entitled "Sa Lahat ng Sulok (No Stone Unturned)" which is currently on exhibit at Newsdesk.

The photo essay depicts our family's struggle from the time Jonas was adbucted, the camp searches to present. Newsdesk is located in Sct. Madrinan near Sct. Tobias, Timog Ave., Q.C.

Let us march for the Desaparecidos

We invite you to join us tomorrow, 30 August 2008, to commemorate The International Day of the Disappeared. Let us all meet in front of UST, Espana, Manila, 1 pm and march towards Plaza Miranda. Join us as we march the photos of our missing loved ones. Please feel free to coordinate your participation with Mary Guy Portajada (09278249352). Your unselfish support is greatly appreciated.

SEARCH FOR JONAS BURGOS CONTINUES siblings join art show at Batasan

The search for the missing farmer-leader Jonas Burgos has taken on a new tack as his siblings mount their works at the House of Representatives to dramatize their anguish at the disappearance of their brother, who was abducted by armed men at the Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City on April 28, 2008.

Dr. Edith Burgos, Jonas’ mother and widow of the press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr., said the exhibit, to be mounted by Desaparecidos, an organization of relatives and friends of the victims of involuntary disappearances, would dramatize the anguish of the family members who have not stopped their search.

The show was launched at 1 p.m. at the North Wing of the Batasang Pambansa and will run until Wednesday, September 3.
Dr. Burgos said the exhibit would bring to the Lower House the plight of Jonas and other missing activists, workers, peasants, students and professionals.

The exhibit will deliver the message for the state to respect human rights and abide by the provisions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and other covenants banning torture, kidnapping, illegal arrest and unfair trial.

Recently, the Court of Appeals (CA) threw out the complaint of the Burgos family against retired and current officials the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Army (PA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for their involvement in the abduction of the protesting Jonas Burgos, who was dragged out of the mall by burly armed men and driven off on a car bearing the plate number of a vehicle held by the military in Bulacan.

The CA ruled bluntly that there was no clear showing that the military was behind the disappearance of Jonas Burgos and denied the issuance of the writ of amparo even as the Burgos counsel argued that there was clear evidence that the abduction was done in consonance with the campaign to arrest and neutralize suspected revolutionary elements in Bulacan.

Unfazed by the legal setback in spite of documentary and testimonial evidence presented in open court, the Burgos family is elevating its case to the Supreme Court (SC).

DR. EDITA BURGOS FILES PETITION

July 31, 2008

DR. EDITA BURGOS FILES PETITION TO REVIEW
CA RULING CLEARING AFP ON JONAS’ ABDUCTION


Dr. Edita Burgos, mother of abducted Jonas Burgos and wife of the late press freedom icon Jose Burgos, has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) that absolved the military of any involvement in the abduction of son on April 28, 2007 at the Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City.

Burgos filed 60-page petition for certiorari with the High Tribunal and sought to overturn the CA decision, which found no direct evidence to hold officers of the 56th Infantry Battalion and elements of the Intelligence and Security Group (ISG) of the Philippine Army (PA) to the disappearance of Jonas Burgos.

The petition asserted that the CA erred in issuing its July 14, 2008 ruling since a wealth of circumstantial, physical and documentary evidence showed that Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano and other members of the 56th Infantry Battalion had the motive to abduct Burgos, who was confirmed by no less than retired AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. as known in the Order of Battle (OB) as “Ka Ramon” and suspected to be the chief of intelligence of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Bulacan.

His abduction was related to the arrest of Lt. Dick Abletes of the same battalion, whom Feliciano confirmed was apprehended for passing information to the NPA based on a video showing him talking with two alleged guerrillas in Bulacan.

Burgos said Abletes was arrested in March 23, 2007. The meeting in Ever Gotesco was set up and hatched by the 56th Infantry Battalion and ISG to “neutralize” Jonas, she added in her petition.

The use of a license plate, TBA-194, taken from the Toyota Revo in the custody of the 56th Infantry Battalion, and attached to a vehicle used in the abduction of the young Burgos provides another physical evidence of the role played by the military.
Burgos stressed that the military had the resources, intelligence information and the resolve to mount the abduction, noting that Feliciano was responsible for the arrest of Abletes with the help of the ISG and he had everything to gain by luring suspected NPA guerrillas to a trap in order to eliminate what he claimed was the “infiltration” of his battalion.

She asked the SC to void the CA ruling and declare the return of the writs as false and hold Esperon, former Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, Maj. Gen. Juanito Gomez, Maj. Gen. Delfin Bangit, formerly of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP), Lt. Col. Noel Clement, former PNP Director General Oscar Calderon, AFP chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. in contempt.

Burgos stressed that Razon stopped the investigation and later followed the AFP theory of the case and noted that the PNP chief was a batchmate of the other respondents, being members of Class 1974 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
She slammed the conspiracy of silence and obfuscation employed by the respondents and charged that the CA erred in not examining the circumstances thoroughly when it absolved the military and police officers of a false return of the writ and failing to take into consideration the testimonial evidence of Melissa Concepcion Reyes, Emerito Lipio and Marlon Manuel, all supposed rebel returnees who confirmed that “Ka Mon,” a military target in the Order of Battle, was Jonas Burgos.

Burgos likewise scored the failure of Razon to pursue the investigation and for taking the military line that the NPA was involved in the abduction of Burgos when witnesses had affirmed the vehicles used in the kidnapping ended up in Fort Bonifacio.

She stressed that she and her relatives and Jonas’ friends and associates remain undaunted in their search for him.
The wealth of circumstantial evidence and the documents that proved that the military had “neutralized” Jonas and bits of information from the military itself are indicative of the participation of military elements in the operation to abduct my son, she stressed.

This CA ruling serves to dampen the quest for justice by the relatives and friends of enforced disappearances, Burgos lamented.