The family of slain botanist Leonard Co on Tuesday filed a complaint accusing 38 members of the Philippine Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion of murdering Co and his two other companions in Leyte last year.

Those who filed the complaint were Co’s wife, Glenda, and parents Lian Sing and Emelina Co.

Co’s family had earlier protested a DOJ fact-finding panel’s report that cleared the military of any liability for the the killing of Co, forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and guide Julius Borromeo at the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) premises in Kananga, Leyte.

The military had claimed that the three were killed in a crossfire between the 19th IB and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

But Co’s family said they do not believe the military because the Army’s shooting was supposedly “specifically directed only at Co, Borromeo, Cortez and their companions.”

“We have basis to believe that no encounter occurred between the 19th Infatnry Battalion and the communist terrorists when Co, Borromeo, Cortez were killed and that they were in fact murdered by elements of the 19th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army,” they said in their complaint.

Those named on the charge sheet were:

# 1Lt. Ronald Odchimar,
# 2Lt. Cameron Perez,
# Corporal Marlon Mores,
# Private First Class Albert Belonte,
# PFC Michael Babon,
# PFC Elemer Forteza,
# PFC Roger Fabillar,
# PFC Gil Guimerey,
# PFC Alex Apostol,
# PFC WIlliam Bulic, and
# 28 other John Does.

Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, commander of the Armed Forces Central Command, said they have yet to get a copy of the complaint but vowed to make available the soldiers involved in any investigation.

“We are fully cooperating with all investigative bodies… our soldiers will be there so they can give their side and explain what happened. We are ready to [face] any of these [investigating] bodies,” said Villanueva, whose command has supervision over the battalion involved.

Complaint

In their complaint, Co’s family asked the DOJ to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether the respondents should be charged with murder for the killing of Co and his two other companions.

Lawyer Evalyn Ursua, counsel for the family, said a review of the DOJ panel’s report would show that “the findings and the conclusions of the report are flawed and contrary to evidence.”

Speaking to reporters, Ursua said that a scrutiny of the soldiers’ affidavits would show that they did not have personal knowledge of the supposed presence of communist rebels.

“We examined their affidavits and we saw their statements. Some were hearsay and unreliable regarding the presence of armed communist terrorists, and the shooting was directed especially at the team of Doctor Co,” Ursua said.

Co’s wife and parents added in their complaint: “It is understanding that these hearsay and unreliable statements about the supposed presence of three armed communist terrorists cannot give credence to the claim that Co, Borromeo, and Cortez were killed in the crossfire between government soldiers and communist terrorists.”

They likewise said that the fact that treachery, an element of murder, was present because Co, Borromeo, and Cortez were killed defenselessly.

“Under the law, the sudden and unexpected attack against Co, Borromeo, and Cortez when they were unarmed and completely defenseless constitutes treachery and makes their killing murder,” they said.

Which has more weight?

In a separate interview with reporters, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she will assign a panel of prosecutors that will hande the Co family’s complaint.

She added that the filing of the complaint paves the way for a preliminary investigation, which is a more formal inquiry compared with the earlier fact-finding probe done by a DOJ panel of prosecutors.

The DOJ panel’s report blamed the deaths on the communist rebels, saying the trajectory of the bullets that killed Co and his companions came from lower grounds, where the NPA rebels were allegedly located.

She added that the imminent preliminary investigation on the murder charges “effectively” has more weight than the fact-finding probe done by the panel.

“In the preliminary investigation, the evidentiary rules will apply. The ultimate goal is to determine probable cause whether the respondents can be indicted. This is a different proceeding, it’s more formal and it will be done by a different panel,” she said.

De Lima likewise vowed the DOJ’s impartiality in the upcoming preliminary investigation.

“The panel that will be created will be presumed to be regular and diligent and efficient in the discharge of its mandate,” she said. — RSJ, GMANews.TV (SOPHIA M. DEDACE, GMANews.TV)

A New York-based human rights group on Tuesday criticized President Benigno Aquino III for allegedly not doing enough to provide justice for human rights abuses, eradicate private armies and address the culture of impunity by the police and military organizations.

In its 2011 report, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that after seven months into his presidency, Aquino “has taken insufficient steps to make perpetrators of killings and other abuses accountable.”

“President Aquino came to office promising that human rights would be a top priority,” said HRW deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson. “But talk is cheap, so long as security forces remain unaccountable for violent abuses.”

In its World Report 2011, HRW described the Philippines as a multiparty democracy with a thriving civil society and vibrant media, but observed that law enforcement agencies and the justice system remain weak, and the military and police commit human rights violations with impunity.

It also noted that “no significant progress has been made in hundreds of political killings that have occurred over the past decade.”

However, it took exception on the trial of Andal Ampatuan, Jr., a former mayor in Maguindanao province, and several others linked Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people, including 32 media workers in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.

The HRW said that since Aquino took office, more than 20 leftist activists have been killed, and that even the international community led by the United Nations, European Union, and the United States, had scored the Philippines’ dismal human rights record.

A local rights group Karapatan claimed that 1,118 extrajudicial killings and more than 200 enforced disappearances were documented in the Philippines between 2001 and October 2009.

“Aquino has not fulfilled his campaign promise to take action against other ruling families who use militias and police as their private armies,” the HRW said.

Task forces were created to examine two private armies elsewhere in the country, but this has not resulted in any further action, the HRW said.

HRW’s Pearson, meanwhile, hailed Aquino’s December order to drop charges against the so-called “Morong 43,” saying it “sends a proper message to the military and police that mistreatment of suspected rebels undermines counterinsurgency efforts.”

In February 2010, the army and police arrested 43 men and women in Morong, Rizal province, and for 36 hours kept them blindfolded and refused them legal counsel. Following Aquino’s order, 35 were released in December.

Three men who face separate criminal charges remain in jail while two men and three women who have admitted to being communist rebels and chosen to enroll in the government’s integration program are still in military custody.

But rather than investigating the allegations of abuse, Pearson lamented that the military granted awards to two officers who led the arrests.

Pearson also cited the two new laws on torture and war crimes that were enacted in late 2009, which will assist prosecutions of government officials implicated in criminal acts.

“New laws on torture and war crimes provide valuable tools for combating abuses. But real progress in professionalizing the army and police will only happen if these laws are put to use,” Pearson said. — LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV

Philippine Daily Tribune Online, 01/25/2011

A hard-hitting radio commentator was shot dead in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, yesterday morning, police said, becoming the second journalist to be murdered in the eight-month-old Aquino administration.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr. identified the victim as Dr. Gerry Ortega of Radio Mindanao Network’s dzAR based in the city.

According to Cruz, Ortega was shot in the head while shopping in a clothing store just after finishing his latest broadcast.

Police quickly caught his attacker but the motive for the

killing was not yet known, he said.

“Recovered from the suspect’s possession was a .45 cal. pistol,” the police official added.

Initial investigation showed that Marlon Dicamata, alias “Marvin Alcaraz,” is from Taguig City, Metro Manila, prompting the police to suspect that the gunman could be a hired killer.

When asked about the motive of shooting the victim, Alcaraz reportedly said he was out to rob Ortega.

Investigators are digging deeper into the case.

“We still cannot say if (Ortega’s murder) was related to his work as a radio commentator. The killer has accomplices who are still being hunted,” desk officer Robert Dagala said.

Before his murder, Ortega was known for his criticism against local corruption, and his advocacies for the protection of the province’s environment.

Tthe National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), in a statement issued also yesterday said, “Ortega is the 142nd journalist killed since 1986 when democracy was restored in the Philippine after Ferdinand Marcos was toppled.”

“If the killing is proven to be work-related, he would be the second to be murdered under President Aquino. The first was radio reporter Miguel Belen of Iriga, Camarines Sur,” the NUJP said.

Aquino has said he intends to make the Philippines safer for journalists.

Jerry Yap, president of the National Press Club (NPC) of the Philippines, condemned the killing of Ortega.

He said the NPC will push a vigorous investigation to ferret out the truth about the latest media slaying.

An investigation, meanwhile, has been ordered by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

DoJ-Task Force Against Political Violence or Task Force 211 head Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan said his office has already coordinated with the Puerto Princesa police for the details on the death of Ortega.

The task force, according to Baraan, would determine if whether his murder was work-related or politically motivated brought about by the nature of his work as a critic of alleged corrupt politicians in the said province.

Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn who said Ortega had received death threats through text messages before he was killed has ordered local police to secure both Ortega’s family and suspected gunman. Benjamin B. Pulta, Gina P. Elorde, PNA and AFP