MANILA, Philippines -- Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Wednesday announced he was releasing the military report on how the license plate of an impounded vehicle ended up being used by the kidnappers of activist Jonas Burgos.“I thought that for the sake of upholding and the protection of human rights, I might as well declassify this since it has become one issue where [Edita] Burgos insisted that the military’s report would help find Jonas,” Esperon said. Esperon’s announcement was made as the Court of Appeals continued to hear a petition for the writ of habeas corpus filed by the family of Burgos, son of the late publisher and press freedom fighter Jose “Joe” Burgos, that includes a plea for the military to release its report on the license plate. Burgos’ lawyer, Pacifico Agabin, told the court he had watched and heard Esperon’s announcement on television, but Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando threatened to cite in contempt Col. Arthur Abadilla, provost marshal general, if he failed to bring the report to the next hearing on Nov. 7. Jonas, 36, an activist-agriculturist training peasants in organic farming, was abducted from a Quezon City mall on April 28. His family said the military was involved, noting that one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping had carried the plates of a jeep impounded by the Army. The military denies the charge. Police investigators have said Burgos was an officer of the communist New People’s Army and that he was kidnapped by guerrillas after he was allegedly found to have pilfered NPA funds and that he was working with the military. Succession of custodians Esperon said the military investigation of the license plate showed a succession of custodians of the impounded vehicle who failed to do their job of safeguarding it. He said the military did not know how the license plate eventually “got involved in the commission of the abduction.” Asked if he was certain that no military officer or soldier was involved in the abduction, Esperon replied: “I will not rule out anything at this point. What we are saying is that from what we have now, we would like to say that we are not involved in the abduction.” Esperon said that the writ of amparo, which took effect Wednesday, requires the AFP “to do more than just deny” that Burgos is being held by the military. “He is indeed not with us. The writ of amparo would require us to take steps to find out where he is, and we can comply with that,” Esperon said. “As we have done, we have been looking for him also.” One last chance “We will give the colonel a last opportunity to comply on condition that with or without the approval of the Chief of Staff or the Secretary of National Defense, you are required to bring the report,” Justice Fernando told Abadilla. She said the court would not entertain any postponement or excuse. Burgos’ mother Edita said she was displeased with Esperon’s insincerity, considering that he earlier said he would abide by the court’s ruling ordering the release of Abadilla’s report. Abadilla told the court that Esperon had declassified the report upon his recommendation, but added clearance from the Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro was needed before its release. “We cannot just act on our own,” he said. He had earlier offered to show the report to the Burgos family in an executive session, but the Burgos lawyers rejected this. Enough time to comply Fernando said the court understood that there were processes that the military had to follow, but added that it had given Abadilla enough time to comply with its directive. She also said it was not constrained to wait for Teodoro’s response. “If you don’t get any reaction, we would be forced to cite you for contempt, is that fair enough?” Fernando said. She also said the anti-graft law required officials to respond to official communication in 15 days. Otherwise, they would be held liable. | 
