OVER the weekend the Commission on Human Rights provided some context to the disappearance and subsequent resurfacing of two environmental activists who went missing last September 2 in Orion, Bataan.
The CHR made an independent investigation into the reported disappearance of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, and searched a total of 15 military camps and police facilities in Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales in an effort to locate Castro and Tamano.
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On September 15, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) announced in a press briefing that the two activists were alive and well after having allegedly surrendered to the Philippine Army based in Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
Castro and Tamano were not presented in that briefing. They were said to be staying in a safehouse after surrendering to the military so they could abandon the communist movement.
It was four days later, on September 19, that the two activists were finally presented to the public in a live press conference hosted by NTF ELCAC.
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Government was dumbfounded when Castro and Tamano belied the previous announcement that they were not abducted but had surrendered to the military.
They insisted that they were abducted. They disavowed as false and concocted the affidavits that they signed supposedly detailing the voluntary surrender. This contradicts the militaryâs earlier claim of the activistsâ desire to join the governmentâs Balik-Loob program for reintegration with society.
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Government is reportedly ready to file perjury and subornation of perjury charges against those responsible for the turnaround.
This was revealed during plenary debates on the budget of the Department of National Defense.
Negros Occidental Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said that the military does not admit the activistsâ claim that they were abducted, and that there were witnesses not only to the voluntary surrender but also to the preparation and signing of the affidavits.
Lawyers from the Public Attorneys Office were present, including the âstepfather of one of the ladiesâŠthe lady denied being coerced, Mr. Speaker,â said Alvarez.
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Perjury is making a false affidavit before a person authorized to administer an oath on any material matter where the law requires an oath.
The penalty for perjury was increased to prision mayor (imprisonment of 6 to 12 years) during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
What will be subjected to a prosecution for perjury in this case? The affidavits stating that the activists have decided to leave the communist front and join the mainstream?
If the affidavits contain the truth, as the military maintains, then what is the cause for perjury?
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If the affidavits in question contain lies, then what is the truth? The truth must be the converse, i.e., that Castro and Tamano were abducted and held against their will until their presentation to the public.
Is that the truth that government will prove to show that the affidavits are perjured?
The activistsâ statements in the September 19 press conference were not under oath.
As far as we know, there is, as yet, no affidavit of recantation that may be the subject of a perjury charge on the assumption that the original affidavits were duly prepared and executed, without the elements of coercion, intimidation, or duress./PN
