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THE Armed Forces of the Philippines has denied any
involvement in the disappearance of Jonas Joseph Burgos. The license
plate of the Toyota Revo used in the kidnapping, however, was traced
to another vehicle that was impounded in the Army’s 56th Infantry
Battalion in Norzagaray. The army said the TAB 194 plate was stolen
by “trouble-makers” living near the camp.
That’s it? The AFP should give
the public and the family of Mr. Burgos a more substantial answer.
The army provost marshal has started and finished its work on the
missing plate. What are its findings? Who stole the license plate?
We have to wait because the Army public information chief said the
investigators did not want to preempt the statement of the AFP
chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr.
Jonas Burgos, son of the militant
journalist Jose Burgos, is an agriculturist who has lived quietly
and simply all his life. He is a member of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid
sa Pilipinas and was active in its farm training program.
He was kidnapped April 28 with
two companions at a restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.
Witnesses said they were dragged into a Toyota Revo outside the
restaurant. They furnished the police the vehicle’s plate number.
How the license plate ended up in
the hands of the Burgos kidnappers is a big question. The army has
promised to yield to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection
Group two soldiers detailed with the 56th Infantry since they
reportedly impounded the vehicle after Department of Environment and
Natural Resources employees seized it in 2006 for illegally
transporting logs to Bulacan.
More than three weeks have passed
but there is no light on the Burgos disappearance. That’s a very
long wait for his family, his friends and an anxious public. Every
minute, every hour and every day counts. Failure to solve the case,
or to produce Mr. Burgos reflects on the competence and will of the
military and the police. As the case lags, the net of suspicion and
of theories widens. At the moment, suspicion points to a unit of the
military owing to available evidence and the witnesses’ account.
The history of the desaparecidos
is a blot on the government’s human rights record. More than 1,600
Filipinos were abducted or disappeared under mysterious
circumstances since the Marcos regime, according to a human-rights
group that keeps count. Almost always, fingers pointed at the
military, which has not kept secret its dislike of left-leaning
organizations and individuals. Will Mr. Burgos join the ranks of
“the disappeared” and become a statistic in the file cabinet?
Militants have argued against the
membership of the Philippines in the United Nations Human Rights
Commission because of the desaparecidos and the killings of militant
labor leaders and peasant organizers. This time the Kilusan ng
Magbubukid said it is considering filing charges of kidnapping and
arbitrary detention against top military officials.
No one can blame the Kilusan
since the military and the police are unable to put the Burgos case
to a close. Where is Jonas Joseph Burgos and what has happened to
him? The people, no less than the Burgos family, want to have an
immediate answer.
Cheaper medicines
THE public should be pleased to
know that the drive for cheaper drugs will continue in the 13th or
14th Congress.
Sen. Mar Roxas said Tuesday that
neither the election campaign nor the legislative lull will slow
down the effort to pass Senate Bill 2263, a measure that promises to
lower the prices of medicines.
The bill, which amends the
Intellectual Property Code, seeks to cut drug prices by allowing
parallel importation of cheaper branded medicines from other
countries even if their patents have not expired. It allows the
government, where appropriate, to compulsorily license others to
manufacture medicines as an immediate response to public health
demand. It gives generics drugs manufacturers more time to develop
and get ready their own generic versions of patented medicines.
The Senate approved SB 2263 on
third reading on January 31, 2007. The House passed its version, HB
No. 6035, on February 20. The Senate measure is co-authored by Roxas
and Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health.
President Arroyo has certified to
the urgency of SB 2263. The Thirteenth Congress will resume shortly
on June 4, and will adjourn sine die on June 8.
A staff-level meeting took place
Tuesday to formally narrow down the differences of the Senate and
House versions in preparation for the bicameral conference committee
meetings before June 8.
For millions of Filipinos, the
need for quality and affordable medicines is urgent. The World
Health Organization had said that less than 30 percent of Filipinos
could afford to buy regularly much-needed medicines. About 40
percent are unable to see a doctor if they are sick. Approval of the
cheaper medicine bill before the closing of the Thirteenth Congress
is important.
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