What can the Presidentiables do for Jonas Burgos and the human rights situation in the Philippines?
“Today, April 28, 2010, I dare all presidential candidates to make a stand on enforced disappearances, torture, extra judicial killings and other violations of human rights. I challenge all of them to bare their human rights agenda instead of wasting their time mud-slinging. I ask all those seeking the highest post in the land what they can do for Jonas and the human rights situation in the country because this present government of Mrs. Gloria Arroyo has done nothing to find my son and give justice to what happened,” said Mrs. Edita Burgos in commemoration of the 3rd year of the abduction and disappearance of Jonas Burgos, activist, agriculturist and son of media icon Joe Burgos.
Three years ago today, Jonas was forcibly taken by armed men, believed to be members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, from a mall in Quezon City while eating inside a fast food restaurant. Since then, the Burgos family and friends have searched for him, yet he remains missing.
“We have brought his case to the Court of Appeals, the Commission on Human Rights and even the United Nations.” says Mrs. Edith Burgos, “ Unfortunately, the CA refused to grant me the Writ of habeas corpus and the writ of amparo, the Supreme Court has remained silent on my appeal for the reversal of the CA’s decision, This petition was filed in August 1, 2008, more than 1 year and 8 months ago, meanwhile the officers whom we have charged in court have been promoted. So now we ask – where is justice?”
Like other families who have lost their loved ones through enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations, Mrs. Burgos has not stopped and will not stop searching for her son, Jonas. She will continue to seek for justice for him and for the thousands of victims of human rights violations under the present government.
According to the human rights group Desaparecidos, the human rights situation in the Philippines within this decade and under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been at its worst since the time of the Marcos dictatorship. A total of 1,118 victims of extrajudicial killings and 204 victims of enforced disappearance has been documented by the human rights group Karapatan. The figures are only for the period of 2001 – 2009, add other cases that have been documented from January to April of this year, have yet to be added.
Aside from the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings, other human rights violations continue to be committed by the Arroyo administration. “If this is the case, then we cannot hope for any justice from the current government.” Mrs. Burgos stated, adding that with just 12 days to go, they have not heard any Presidential candidate offer their human rights agenda to the Filipino people. “What can Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Erap Estrada, Gibo Teodoro, Dick Gordon, Eddie Villanueva, Nick Perlas, Jamby Madrigal and Jaycee delos Reyes do to improve the human rights situation in the country?” Mrs. Burgos asked.
Desaparecidos Deputy Secretary General Lorena “Aya” Santos could only agree. “In case these Presidential bets have forgotten, may we remind them that human rights issues – economic, social, civil, political and cultural rights – are the issues we as a nation must confront. Thus, we challenge those running for positions in government to present their human rights agenda to the nation and show us how they will protect the rights of the Filipino people. ###
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Mrs. B
After a successful run last Feb. 5 & 6, "Mrs. B" will run dates yet again on Feb. 12 &13 at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani. Please join us either at 3 pm or at 6 pm on those dates. To those who already watched the play, our sincerest gratitude.
Mrs. B at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani
On April 28, 2007, farmer-activist Jonas Burgos, son of Edita and the late press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos Jr., was abducted by unidentified men and a woman while having lunch at the Hapag Kainan restaurant in Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City. He was dragged into a waiting van and has been missing since then.
Jonas’ love for farming and the poor farmers of the society prompted him to take up BS Agriculture at the Benguet State University. When he was abducted, he was a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). While managing the family’s farm in Bulacan, he shared his knowledge with other farmers and introduced organic farming to them.
Since the abduction almost three years ago, the Burgos family, headed by Edith Burgos, has been searching relentlessly for Jonas. Mrs. Burgos has taken all the avenues --- courts, police, military, morgues, government agencies including the Office of the President, international organizations and the streets --- to look for her son.
Edith Burgos now brings her search to the stage with a monologue dubbed as “Mrs. B”. The one-act play will be starred by veteran actresses/directors Gina Alajar and Bibeth Orteza who will alternately play the role of Edith Burgos. It deals with the gamut of emotions a mother must go through in search of a missing son.
" We have failed to find Jonas by going to the authorities. We cannot give up. We shall bring our search to any peaceful venue available to us and bring our cause to the people." states Edith Burgos.
Mrs. B will be on its second run, the first in April 2008 with Pinky Amador as lead actress. Conceptualized and directed by Soc Jose of the tv series Darna and Full House, the play was written by award-winning playwright Joi Barrios together with Rowena Festin and Grundy Constantino of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines(CAP). It is being produced by Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for Literature.
A joint effort of the Free Jonas Burgos Movement, Desaparecidos and CAP, the play will be seen on February 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 3 and 6 pm, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani auditorium in Quezon City.
For details and ticket reservations, contact Aya Santos at (02)434-2837 and (0929)441-4270 or Peachy Burgos at (0916)782-6374.
Jonas’ love for farming and the poor farmers of the society prompted him to take up BS Agriculture at the Benguet State University. When he was abducted, he was a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). While managing the family’s farm in Bulacan, he shared his knowledge with other farmers and introduced organic farming to them.
Since the abduction almost three years ago, the Burgos family, headed by Edith Burgos, has been searching relentlessly for Jonas. Mrs. Burgos has taken all the avenues --- courts, police, military, morgues, government agencies including the Office of the President, international organizations and the streets --- to look for her son.
Edith Burgos now brings her search to the stage with a monologue dubbed as “Mrs. B”. The one-act play will be starred by veteran actresses/directors Gina Alajar and Bibeth Orteza who will alternately play the role of Edith Burgos. It deals with the gamut of emotions a mother must go through in search of a missing son.
" We have failed to find Jonas by going to the authorities. We cannot give up. We shall bring our search to any peaceful venue available to us and bring our cause to the people." states Edith Burgos.
Mrs. B will be on its second run, the first in April 2008 with Pinky Amador as lead actress. Conceptualized and directed by Soc Jose of the tv series Darna and Full House, the play was written by award-winning playwright Joi Barrios together with Rowena Festin and Grundy Constantino of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines(CAP). It is being produced by Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for Literature.
A joint effort of the Free Jonas Burgos Movement, Desaparecidos and CAP, the play will be seen on February 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 3 and 6 pm, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani auditorium in Quezon City.
For details and ticket reservations, contact Aya Santos at (02)434-2837 and (0929)441-4270 or Peachy Burgos at (0916)782-6374.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dear Lord, when will all this injustice end?
“Dear Lord, when will all this injustice end?” Edita Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos said.
More than two years into the disappearance of her son Jonas, the Arroyo government promoted Noel Clement, Melquiades Feliciano and Edison Caga to full colonels. The three officers are implicated in the abduction of farmer/activist Jonas Burgos.
“The promotion of these men only confirms the truth in our (the families of victims/desaparecidos) claim that the government, the state forces are behind the disappearances,” Mrs. Burgos laments.
Lt. Col. Clement was commanding officer of the 56th Infantry Battalion when a vehicle with plate number TAB 194 was impounded. The same plate number was used in the abduction of Jonas in 2007. Lt. Col. Feliciano was the commanding officer of the 56th IB when Jonas disappeared. Clement and Feliciano along with the other respondents in the Habeas Corpus case of Jonas were ordered by the Supreme Court to release Jonas and to explain the basis for his detention.
“The government can no longer deny that it is a state policy that abduction is a means that they use to further their ends no matter if this means violating the rights of the people they have sworn to protect,” Mrs. Burgos said.
The Burgoses also found the claim of AFP civil relations service chief Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan that “the accusations against them were merely based on allegations” absurd.
“The evidences are pointing in their directions already. They are pissing on their own heads and convincing themselves it’s rain,” JL Burgos said.
The Burgos family can not but see that this promotion is a reward. “I am truly scared because of the message this promotion delivers, Mrs Burgos said. “Will there be more enforced disappearances so that those who aim to be promoted will gain favor in the eyes of the superiors? The commander-in-chief maybe?” Mrs. Burgos added.
Reports quoted Pangilinan saying that “the promotions in the military go through “a lot of tedious process" and that one could not be promoted if he has a pending case.”
The Burgos Family filed a petition to cite Col. Clement and Col. Felicano for contempt for offering no proof of the lost of the license plate; no explanation when it was lost, how it was lost, who lost it and where it was lost. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court.
More than two years into the disappearance of her son Jonas, the Arroyo government promoted Noel Clement, Melquiades Feliciano and Edison Caga to full colonels. The three officers are implicated in the abduction of farmer/activist Jonas Burgos.
“The promotion of these men only confirms the truth in our (the families of victims/desaparecidos) claim that the government, the state forces are behind the disappearances,” Mrs. Burgos laments.
Lt. Col. Clement was commanding officer of the 56th Infantry Battalion when a vehicle with plate number TAB 194 was impounded. The same plate number was used in the abduction of Jonas in 2007. Lt. Col. Feliciano was the commanding officer of the 56th IB when Jonas disappeared. Clement and Feliciano along with the other respondents in the Habeas Corpus case of Jonas were ordered by the Supreme Court to release Jonas and to explain the basis for his detention.
“The government can no longer deny that it is a state policy that abduction is a means that they use to further their ends no matter if this means violating the rights of the people they have sworn to protect,” Mrs. Burgos said.
The Burgoses also found the claim of AFP civil relations service chief Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan that “the accusations against them were merely based on allegations” absurd.
“The evidences are pointing in their directions already. They are pissing on their own heads and convincing themselves it’s rain,” JL Burgos said.
The Burgos family can not but see that this promotion is a reward. “I am truly scared because of the message this promotion delivers, Mrs Burgos said. “Will there be more enforced disappearances so that those who aim to be promoted will gain favor in the eyes of the superiors? The commander-in-chief maybe?” Mrs. Burgos added.
Reports quoted Pangilinan saying that “the promotions in the military go through “a lot of tedious process" and that one could not be promoted if he has a pending case.”
The Burgos Family filed a petition to cite Col. Clement and Col. Felicano for contempt for offering no proof of the lost of the license plate; no explanation when it was lost, how it was lost, who lost it and where it was lost. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sen. Pia Cayetano blogs on 2nd year of Jonas Burgos' abduction
A Mother's search for her missing son*
By Sen. Pia S. Cayetano
Chairperson, Senate Committee on Social Justice
President, Committee of Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) I have come to accept that I will never see my son again in this lifetime. He died in my arms almost eight years ago. But Edith Burgos does not know the fate of her son. He is missing. What does a mother do, when her son has gone missing?
If you were Edith, you will rally in front of Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, hear mass followed by a visit to the Senate to push for the passage of "Enforced Disappearance" bill. Exactly two years ago, Jonas Burgos was abducted in broad daylight inside a mall in Quezon City. One of the evidence of his abduction is the plate number of the vehicle used by the perpetrators. The family of Jonas maintains that the vehicle was traced to the 56th Infantry Battalion of the 7th Division then headed by Maj. General Jovito Palparan. On the principle of command responsibility, Gen. Palparan was expected to take the lead in investigating this case.
But to this day, no one has been held accountable for Jonas' disappearance. And yet, Gen. Palparan was later promoted and is now a member of Congress in the Lower House representing a party-list group.
Edith pleaded for a writ of amparo. The writ of amparo is an order issued by a court to protect the constitutional rights of a person. It compels the State to act on disappearances, to look for missing persons. It can hold officials liable if the court finds that they did not exert enough effort in finding the person.
In this case, the Court of Appeals partially granted her plea by directing the military and police to provide her with documents. But it denied Edith's bid to inspect military camps possibly holding her son. It ruled that Edith Burgos failed to show that the military was behind the kidnapping of Jonas. The Court of Appeals did order AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Yano to reinvestigate the case with vigor. It also ordered PNP Director Gen Avelino Razon Jr to investigate and file charges. Both Yano and Razon were directed to submit compliance reports within 10 days after the completion of their investigations.
Edith Burgos told me that General Yano and General Razon NEVER SUBMITTED the compliance report required by the Court of Appeals and that the report she got was given to her ten months AFTER the CA order and only because they were about to be cited for contempt. She has elevated this case to the Supreme Court, but there has been no decision yet.
In this case, can we say that the writ upheld the constitutional rights of Jonas? Has the State acted sufficiently on the his disappearance? Were any officials held liable for not exerting enough effort to find him?
The minority floor leader, Aquilino Pimentel delivered a privilege speech on this matter. I stood up to interpellate him.
"I am appalled that government officials involved in this incident and similar crimes, can go to sleep at night and then wake up in the morning pretending that this never happened or that it is acceptable that it happens."
I asked the minority leader, "what exactly do they expect us to think?" Senator Pimentel replied, "all of the above, but the reason why these kinds of crimes persist, is because the perpetrators are rewarded with higher positions in government. And for those who tell the truth and report a crime like Jun Lozada, they are persecuted."
"Ohhh," I said, "it's a system of reward and punishment that any child can relate to. So is this the lesson this government is teaching our children? Commit a crime and get a reward? Do a good deed, and get punished?" In a press statement issued today, Lorena Santos, the Deputy Secretary General of Desaparecidos posed the question, "So, how long do we keep looking for a desaparecido?
To this I add: "How long do you keep loving a child? How long do you keep fighting for justice? I should hope that my children, the grandchildren of Senator Pimentel and Edith Burgos will continue to fight for justice and bring to closure the cases of all desaparecidos." On that note, I ended my interpellation with an appeal to our President, our chief executive and the commander in chief of the Armed Forces, to finally do what is right. Reward the just and punish the guilty.
Is that too much to ask?
n.b. Incidentally, the definition of the writ of amparo was a bar question when I took the bar exam. It was unheard of at that time. It has recently been touted as the "magic solution" to missing persons cases. But is it? #
* Entry posted by Sen. Pia on her blog www.mydailyrace.com on the second year anniversary of the abduction and disappearance of agriculturist and activist Jonas Burgos last April 28, 2007. Jonas is the son of the late press freedom icon Jose Burgos and Edita Burgos. Together with leaders of "Desaparecidos," an advocacy group of families of missing persons, Mrs. Burgos went to the Senate yesterday (April 28, 2009) to lobby for the passage of the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Bill and Anti-Torture Bill. Their presence in the gallery was manifested on the floor by Sen. Cayetano, a member of the Senate minority bloc, after which Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. delivered an impromptu privileged speech on the Burgos case. In her interpellation of Sen. Pimentel, Sen. Pia noted how military officials linked to the abduction, such as then Army Maj. General Jovito Palparan, was even promoted instead of being subjected to a full investigation by the military hierarchy. Sen. Gregorio Honasan, himself a former military official, and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, also manifested their concern over the climate of impunity and blatant disregard for human rights under the Arroyo regime.
By Sen. Pia S. Cayetano
Chairperson, Senate Committee on Social Justice
President, Committee of Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) I have come to accept that I will never see my son again in this lifetime. He died in my arms almost eight years ago. But Edith Burgos does not know the fate of her son. He is missing. What does a mother do, when her son has gone missing?
If you were Edith, you will rally in front of Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, hear mass followed by a visit to the Senate to push for the passage of "Enforced Disappearance" bill. Exactly two years ago, Jonas Burgos was abducted in broad daylight inside a mall in Quezon City. One of the evidence of his abduction is the plate number of the vehicle used by the perpetrators. The family of Jonas maintains that the vehicle was traced to the 56th Infantry Battalion of the 7th Division then headed by Maj. General Jovito Palparan. On the principle of command responsibility, Gen. Palparan was expected to take the lead in investigating this case.
But to this day, no one has been held accountable for Jonas' disappearance. And yet, Gen. Palparan was later promoted and is now a member of Congress in the Lower House representing a party-list group.
Edith pleaded for a writ of amparo. The writ of amparo is an order issued by a court to protect the constitutional rights of a person. It compels the State to act on disappearances, to look for missing persons. It can hold officials liable if the court finds that they did not exert enough effort in finding the person.
In this case, the Court of Appeals partially granted her plea by directing the military and police to provide her with documents. But it denied Edith's bid to inspect military camps possibly holding her son. It ruled that Edith Burgos failed to show that the military was behind the kidnapping of Jonas. The Court of Appeals did order AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Yano to reinvestigate the case with vigor. It also ordered PNP Director Gen Avelino Razon Jr to investigate and file charges. Both Yano and Razon were directed to submit compliance reports within 10 days after the completion of their investigations.
Edith Burgos told me that General Yano and General Razon NEVER SUBMITTED the compliance report required by the Court of Appeals and that the report she got was given to her ten months AFTER the CA order and only because they were about to be cited for contempt. She has elevated this case to the Supreme Court, but there has been no decision yet.
In this case, can we say that the writ upheld the constitutional rights of Jonas? Has the State acted sufficiently on the his disappearance? Were any officials held liable for not exerting enough effort to find him?
The minority floor leader, Aquilino Pimentel delivered a privilege speech on this matter. I stood up to interpellate him.
"I am appalled that government officials involved in this incident and similar crimes, can go to sleep at night and then wake up in the morning pretending that this never happened or that it is acceptable that it happens."
I asked the minority leader, "what exactly do they expect us to think?" Senator Pimentel replied, "all of the above, but the reason why these kinds of crimes persist, is because the perpetrators are rewarded with higher positions in government. And for those who tell the truth and report a crime like Jun Lozada, they are persecuted."
"Ohhh," I said, "it's a system of reward and punishment that any child can relate to. So is this the lesson this government is teaching our children? Commit a crime and get a reward? Do a good deed, and get punished?" In a press statement issued today, Lorena Santos, the Deputy Secretary General of Desaparecidos posed the question, "So, how long do we keep looking for a desaparecido?
To this I add: "How long do you keep loving a child? How long do you keep fighting for justice? I should hope that my children, the grandchildren of Senator Pimentel and Edith Burgos will continue to fight for justice and bring to closure the cases of all desaparecidos." On that note, I ended my interpellation with an appeal to our President, our chief executive and the commander in chief of the Armed Forces, to finally do what is right. Reward the just and punish the guilty.
Is that too much to ask?
n.b. Incidentally, the definition of the writ of amparo was a bar question when I took the bar exam. It was unheard of at that time. It has recently been touted as the "magic solution" to missing persons cases. But is it? #
* Entry posted by Sen. Pia on her blog www.mydailyrace.com on the second year anniversary of the abduction and disappearance of agriculturist and activist Jonas Burgos last April 28, 2007. Jonas is the son of the late press freedom icon Jose Burgos and Edita Burgos. Together with leaders of "Desaparecidos," an advocacy group of families of missing persons, Mrs. Burgos went to the Senate yesterday (April 28, 2009) to lobby for the passage of the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Bill and Anti-Torture Bill. Their presence in the gallery was manifested on the floor by Sen. Cayetano, a member of the Senate minority bloc, after which Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. delivered an impromptu privileged speech on the Burgos case. In her interpellation of Sen. Pimentel, Sen. Pia noted how military officials linked to the abduction, such as then Army Maj. General Jovito Palparan, was even promoted instead of being subjected to a full investigation by the military hierarchy. Sen. Gregorio Honasan, himself a former military official, and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, also manifested their concern over the climate of impunity and blatant disregard for human rights under the Arroyo regime.
Monday, May 4, 2009
AFAD Statement on the 2nd Year of Jonas Burgos’ Disappearance
The Struggle of Memory Against Forgetting…
"The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." Milan Kundera
28 April 2009 - Today marks the second year of the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, the son of the late Filipino press freedom fighter, Jose Burgos. Jonas was seized by armed men in broad daylight on 28 April 2007 from a mall in Quezon City, Philippines. For two years, we have witnessed not only the pain and suffering of a grieving family but also the incomparable courage and admirable strength of a united family incessantly searching for Jonas, never leaving any stone unturned, employing all peaceful means, using national and international avenues in search for truth and justice. Our hearts bleed for Jonas’ one and only daughter, who, according to her grandmother, Edita, continues to wait for her dear Tati (father or Daddy) and would sometimes ask if Jonas would bring her to school.
Today, on the second year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance, we have experienced yet another irony of ironies when the top military officer, Jovito Palparan alleged to have been responsible for the spate of killings and disappearances in the country since 2001, joins, on this very day, the ranks of the members of the Philippine House of Representatives – a manifestation of the cycle of impunity in a country which boasts itself as a founding member of the UN Human Rights Council.
The case of Jonas Burgos has become a high-profile case of disappearance in the Philippines not only due to his well-known surname, but especially because at the height of the phenomenon of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country, his disappearance exemplifies the many other countless and nameless victims of enforced disappearances in the country since the assumption of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power. The Burgos family has joined the other families of victims of enforced disappearance that occurred since the tyrannical and rapacious Marcos regime until the succeeding administrations not only in their common pain of having lost their loved ones, but also in their unified struggle for truth, justice, redress and collective memory.
Two years have passed and Jonas remains missing. We salute his mother, Edita. By her unrelenting spirit to search for her son, to file a case in court, to use national avenues while maximizing available international mechanisms, telling the world that in the Philippines, all is not well in the human rights front, she has consequently earned the ire of the alleged perpetrators of the disappearance of her son and, thus, has also faced constant danger. Despite Edita’s and her family’s courage and perseverance, truth and justice remain elusive. Nevertheless, Edita’s unrelenting spirit has, in no small measure, unmasked the cover up from the highest post to maliciously hide the truth and to exonerate the perpetrators. No amount of hiding the truth could stop people from pointing their fingers to the real culprits to this treacherous act of disappearing a man deprived of life and liberty because of his option to choose the road less trodden - to organize farmers in their fight for genuine land reform, thus contributing to the gargantuan task of social transformation.
Jonas Burgos’ case met a major setback in July 2008 when the Court of Appeals ruled against his family’s petition for a Writ of Amparo . The verdict stated that there was not enough evidence that the military authorities are the ones responsible for the disappearance. Accordingly, it is non sequitor that if the plate number of the car used to forcibly take Jonas belonged to the military authorities, the latter were the ones who took him. It is frustratingly unfortunate that the Writ of Amparo, a relatively newly promulgated national mechanism for human rights protection in the country, has miserably failed to facilitate the resolution of the country’s very highly projected case of enforced disappearance in recent years.
Despite seemingly insurmountable barriers, the Burgos family has never been cowed into silence and never been paralyzed by fear. The two long years of treading the thorny road to justice did not stop them from searching, from struggling, from fighting for truth, justice, redress and memory. In so doing, they have kept Jonas’ memory alive in their hearts and in the hearts of all freedom-loving men and women. They have continuously struggled, and in the words of Milan Kundera, theirs is a “struggle of memory against forgetting.”
As the Burgos family commemorates the second year of Jonas’ disappearance, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD) once again expresses its solidarity with them and with all families of the disappeared in the Philippines and in the rest of the world. We commend Edita, who, by her very personal experience of losing her son, has become a very courageous human rights defender, whose faith-based advocacy is remarkably amazing. In the Inter-faith Conference on Enforced Disappearance sponsored by AFAD in December 2008, she spoke before the representatives of different church groups and families of the disappeared saying that never did (and does) she nurture hatred in her heart, in fact, she even prayed and continues to pray for her son’s torturers and despite the pain, she had resolved to forgive them without ceasing the struggle to fight for truth and justice for her son and for other victims of enforced disappearances. Deep inside her, she believes that Jonas did not just make a supreme sacrifice of serving his people for nothing. He did it for the love of his country.
On this occasion, AFAD reaffirms its commitment to never again allow this malady to happen. It shall continue to collectively fight against the scourge of enforced disappearance in Asia and in the rest of the world. In so doing, the Federation will continue to give its modest share in the struggle for a world without desaparecidos - a world where no mothers to grieve for their disappeared children, where no children to be orphaned, no more families of desaparecidos to ask the nagging question, " Where are you?"
Never again!
Signed by:
MUGIYANTO MARY AILEEN DIEZ-BACALSO
Chairperson Secretary-General
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
Rms. 310-311 Philippine Social Science Center Bldg.,
Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, 1103 Quezon City
Phone: 00-632-9274594
Telefax: 00-632-4546759
Website: www.afad-online.org
"The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." Milan Kundera
28 April 2009 - Today marks the second year of the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, the son of the late Filipino press freedom fighter, Jose Burgos. Jonas was seized by armed men in broad daylight on 28 April 2007 from a mall in Quezon City, Philippines. For two years, we have witnessed not only the pain and suffering of a grieving family but also the incomparable courage and admirable strength of a united family incessantly searching for Jonas, never leaving any stone unturned, employing all peaceful means, using national and international avenues in search for truth and justice. Our hearts bleed for Jonas’ one and only daughter, who, according to her grandmother, Edita, continues to wait for her dear Tati (father or Daddy) and would sometimes ask if Jonas would bring her to school.
Today, on the second year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance, we have experienced yet another irony of ironies when the top military officer, Jovito Palparan alleged to have been responsible for the spate of killings and disappearances in the country since 2001, joins, on this very day, the ranks of the members of the Philippine House of Representatives – a manifestation of the cycle of impunity in a country which boasts itself as a founding member of the UN Human Rights Council.
The case of Jonas Burgos has become a high-profile case of disappearance in the Philippines not only due to his well-known surname, but especially because at the height of the phenomenon of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country, his disappearance exemplifies the many other countless and nameless victims of enforced disappearances in the country since the assumption of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power. The Burgos family has joined the other families of victims of enforced disappearance that occurred since the tyrannical and rapacious Marcos regime until the succeeding administrations not only in their common pain of having lost their loved ones, but also in their unified struggle for truth, justice, redress and collective memory.
Two years have passed and Jonas remains missing. We salute his mother, Edita. By her unrelenting spirit to search for her son, to file a case in court, to use national avenues while maximizing available international mechanisms, telling the world that in the Philippines, all is not well in the human rights front, she has consequently earned the ire of the alleged perpetrators of the disappearance of her son and, thus, has also faced constant danger. Despite Edita’s and her family’s courage and perseverance, truth and justice remain elusive. Nevertheless, Edita’s unrelenting spirit has, in no small measure, unmasked the cover up from the highest post to maliciously hide the truth and to exonerate the perpetrators. No amount of hiding the truth could stop people from pointing their fingers to the real culprits to this treacherous act of disappearing a man deprived of life and liberty because of his option to choose the road less trodden - to organize farmers in their fight for genuine land reform, thus contributing to the gargantuan task of social transformation.
Jonas Burgos’ case met a major setback in July 2008 when the Court of Appeals ruled against his family’s petition for a Writ of Amparo . The verdict stated that there was not enough evidence that the military authorities are the ones responsible for the disappearance. Accordingly, it is non sequitor that if the plate number of the car used to forcibly take Jonas belonged to the military authorities, the latter were the ones who took him. It is frustratingly unfortunate that the Writ of Amparo, a relatively newly promulgated national mechanism for human rights protection in the country, has miserably failed to facilitate the resolution of the country’s very highly projected case of enforced disappearance in recent years.
Despite seemingly insurmountable barriers, the Burgos family has never been cowed into silence and never been paralyzed by fear. The two long years of treading the thorny road to justice did not stop them from searching, from struggling, from fighting for truth, justice, redress and memory. In so doing, they have kept Jonas’ memory alive in their hearts and in the hearts of all freedom-loving men and women. They have continuously struggled, and in the words of Milan Kundera, theirs is a “struggle of memory against forgetting.”
As the Burgos family commemorates the second year of Jonas’ disappearance, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD) once again expresses its solidarity with them and with all families of the disappeared in the Philippines and in the rest of the world. We commend Edita, who, by her very personal experience of losing her son, has become a very courageous human rights defender, whose faith-based advocacy is remarkably amazing. In the Inter-faith Conference on Enforced Disappearance sponsored by AFAD in December 2008, she spoke before the representatives of different church groups and families of the disappeared saying that never did (and does) she nurture hatred in her heart, in fact, she even prayed and continues to pray for her son’s torturers and despite the pain, she had resolved to forgive them without ceasing the struggle to fight for truth and justice for her son and for other victims of enforced disappearances. Deep inside her, she believes that Jonas did not just make a supreme sacrifice of serving his people for nothing. He did it for the love of his country.
On this occasion, AFAD reaffirms its commitment to never again allow this malady to happen. It shall continue to collectively fight against the scourge of enforced disappearance in Asia and in the rest of the world. In so doing, the Federation will continue to give its modest share in the struggle for a world without desaparecidos - a world where no mothers to grieve for their disappeared children, where no children to be orphaned, no more families of desaparecidos to ask the nagging question, " Where are you?"
Never again!
Signed by:
MUGIYANTO MARY AILEEN DIEZ-BACALSO
Chairperson Secretary-General
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
Rms. 310-311 Philippine Social Science Center Bldg.,
Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, 1103 Quezon City
Phone: 00-632-9274594
Telefax: 00-632-4546759
Website: www.afad-online.org
Sunday, April 26, 2009
JONAS WILL CONTINUE SERVING THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
By Edita T. Bugos, OCDS
Message: Commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the abduction of Jonas
The last two years has been like an eternity of uncertainty. We were able to proceed only because in these two years of affliction, the family has been blessed with relatives, friends and unnamed supporters especially artists and those in media who have provided all kinds of assistance. We have commended them in a special way to Him who will thank them. In my dialect “Ang Diyos ang mabalos.” (God will thank them.)
Jonas was taken by armed men and a woman last April 28, 2007 at the Hapag Kainan Restaurant, Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City at broad daylight in the view of hundreds of mall goers. Since then we have been praying, appealing, filing cases, searching, yet nothing is known of Jonas’ fate. What is certain is that the perpetrators used a car with car plate TAB 194 which at the time of abduction was in the custody of the 56th Infantry Batallion. And what is more certain is that the state actors have all participated in the cover up so that I would not find out what truly happened.
Jonas remains to be missing, two years after. We, the family and friends of Jonas have not given up. We have been constant and consistent in our efforts to locate him. We shall not forget. Though the forces of evil, now present in the very institutions that are vowed to protect the people, shroud the truth about what befell Jonas, we believe that in His time and our perfect time, the truth will be known and justice will be served.
Jonas like the palay (rice grain) remains to be the symbol of the most basic aspiration of the true-blooded Filipino, to be able to serve one’s country . . . and to a farmer, like Jonas, service would be to produce food for the ordinary Filipino. . . and more than just to produce food, when it was asked of him, to be planted so that he would grow to produce more grains to feed more and to serve more. Did Jesus not say “Unless the grain falls to the ground and dies he cannot live again’?
Jonas continues to live in our hearts. The Burgos family is one with Jonas in his aspirations to serve the Philippines. At this time, this is spelled out as fighting against human rights violations, which also means opposing the perpetrators of disappearances and extra judicial killings.
In his lifetime. Jose Burgos Jr., Jonas’ father, gave everything to fight for press freedom and the freedom of each one to express what he believes in. After his death, Jonas, his son, is deprived of the very same freedom Joe successfully obtained with so many others when democracy was restored to the Philippines after the dictatorship.
We have stated again and again… we shall not be cowed into silence, nor terrorized into paralysis. Though we be ‘ambassadors in chains’, we shall be given the courage and the words to speak the truth.
We now ask all who read and hear this message to pray for those who participated in the abduction, the detention, the torture, and all that Jonas suffered in their hands. Please pray that they the perpetrators would be touched by the Spirit and come out to clean their hands of the blood it is stained with. Our Lord is the God of mercy. If they seek forgiveness they will be forgiven and they shall obtain peace in their hearts. They must come out and say where we can find Jonas.
Note:
Tomorrow we will be commemorating the 2nd year anniversary of the abduction of Jonas with a Holy Mass to be celebrated by Fr. Robert Reyes, 9:00 am, in front of the Camp Aguinaldo Gate, Santolan St.. We invite everyone to join the family and friends of Jonas.
Reference: JL Burgos
09162684737
Message: Commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the abduction of Jonas
The last two years has been like an eternity of uncertainty. We were able to proceed only because in these two years of affliction, the family has been blessed with relatives, friends and unnamed supporters especially artists and those in media who have provided all kinds of assistance. We have commended them in a special way to Him who will thank them. In my dialect “Ang Diyos ang mabalos.” (God will thank them.)
Jonas was taken by armed men and a woman last April 28, 2007 at the Hapag Kainan Restaurant, Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City at broad daylight in the view of hundreds of mall goers. Since then we have been praying, appealing, filing cases, searching, yet nothing is known of Jonas’ fate. What is certain is that the perpetrators used a car with car plate TAB 194 which at the time of abduction was in the custody of the 56th Infantry Batallion. And what is more certain is that the state actors have all participated in the cover up so that I would not find out what truly happened.
Jonas remains to be missing, two years after. We, the family and friends of Jonas have not given up. We have been constant and consistent in our efforts to locate him. We shall not forget. Though the forces of evil, now present in the very institutions that are vowed to protect the people, shroud the truth about what befell Jonas, we believe that in His time and our perfect time, the truth will be known and justice will be served.
Jonas like the palay (rice grain) remains to be the symbol of the most basic aspiration of the true-blooded Filipino, to be able to serve one’s country . . . and to a farmer, like Jonas, service would be to produce food for the ordinary Filipino. . . and more than just to produce food, when it was asked of him, to be planted so that he would grow to produce more grains to feed more and to serve more. Did Jesus not say “Unless the grain falls to the ground and dies he cannot live again’?
Jonas continues to live in our hearts. The Burgos family is one with Jonas in his aspirations to serve the Philippines. At this time, this is spelled out as fighting against human rights violations, which also means opposing the perpetrators of disappearances and extra judicial killings.
In his lifetime. Jose Burgos Jr., Jonas’ father, gave everything to fight for press freedom and the freedom of each one to express what he believes in. After his death, Jonas, his son, is deprived of the very same freedom Joe successfully obtained with so many others when democracy was restored to the Philippines after the dictatorship.
We have stated again and again… we shall not be cowed into silence, nor terrorized into paralysis. Though we be ‘ambassadors in chains’, we shall be given the courage and the words to speak the truth.
We now ask all who read and hear this message to pray for those who participated in the abduction, the detention, the torture, and all that Jonas suffered in their hands. Please pray that they the perpetrators would be touched by the Spirit and come out to clean their hands of the blood it is stained with. Our Lord is the God of mercy. If they seek forgiveness they will be forgiven and they shall obtain peace in their hearts. They must come out and say where we can find Jonas.
Note:
Tomorrow we will be commemorating the 2nd year anniversary of the abduction of Jonas with a Holy Mass to be celebrated by Fr. Robert Reyes, 9:00 am, in front of the Camp Aguinaldo Gate, Santolan St.. We invite everyone to join the family and friends of Jonas.
Reference: JL Burgos
09162684737
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)