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Yano orders probe of violations of rights of detained ‘plotters’

by Victor Reyes
Malaya

Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano has created a board that will look into allegations of violation of the rights of military officers detained for alleged involvement in a power grab attempt in February 2006.

The board of inquiry held its first meeting yesterday in Camp Aguinaldo with the wives of some of the detainees in attendance. It is headed by Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Bocobo, AFP inspector general, and includes as member Lt. Col. Benedicto Jose, chief of the AFP Human Rights Office.

Twenty-eight Marines and Army officers, led by Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, are facing court martial for the supposed power grab attempt.

Miranda is detained at Intelligence Service in Camp Aguinaldo together with Col. Ariel Querubin and four other officers. Lim is in Camp Crame’s custodial center. Four are in various military units, while the remaining 17 are detained in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, chief of the AFP public affairs office, said the board was “an offshoot of the complaints made by the wives of the Tanay detainees before Congress.”

Among the cases of abuse they raised were handcuffing of the officers during court martial proceedings, forcible transport to court hearings in Camp Aguinaldo even if the accused are sick, and installation of surveillance cameras.

At yesterday’s hearing, the wives led by Maria Flor Querubin submitted a statement on the alleged rights violations.

These include the reversal of the recommendation of pre-trial investigators to drop the mutiny charge against the officers, harassment of the officers’ visitors, and denial of access to medical attention and of leave requests during emergencies.

“Those detained in ISAFP are even prohibited to sing. It seems that it is illegal for detainees to be happy,” the statement said. The wives also alleged that court martial proceedings “have been characterized by arbitrariness calculated to demoralize the detainees.”

Torres said Human Rights chief Leila de Lima has been invited to attend the board’s hearings so “she could also give her opinion regarding the allegations.”

He also said: “We consider this as a good step towards hearing both sides – the detainees and those who are in custody of them. From there, we will establish what adjustments are to be taken, if there is a need to make some adjustments regarding the custody of the Tanay detainees.”

Published inFeb '06Military

11 Comments

  1. chi chi

    And what will Gloria do if Yano submits to her the real findings of the probe team regarding the violations of HR in case of the Tanay boys? Itago rin gaya ng Mayuga report, anupa!

    Another concern: E kung unahan ni GloriaAsspweron na tawagan ang board members to fake the findings, can they say NO to their president and commander-in-cheat and her Ass? Does Yano have balls big enough to disobey his commander?

    I don’t trust anything good will come out of Yano’s probe but for the sake of the Tanay boys, I wish I’d be proven wrong.

  2. parasabayan parasabayan

    Sinabi mo pa Chi. This “chain of command” that the military follows puts the evil bitch on top of the chain. No matter how rotten she is, as proven so many times, the military still has to follow her command! Kaya nga nakakulong ang mga Magdalo and the Tanay Boys because they saw how rotten the system is and how rotten she is and they wanted changes. Now they are jailed. Those who changed their tune have to “honor” the bitch anew! YUCK!

    Yano, let us face it, will not defy the orders of the evil bitch no matter how strong he can be. Kaya itong probe na ito will be another “Mayuga” probe. Whatever will be uncovered will be COVERED UP! It will just be a futile effort! But at least, there are motions and when the tide turns, those who have over stepped their bounds will be answerable. If that day ever comes. Only God knows. Even Marcos who looked formidable was toppled, how much more for this RAT who had done all things WRONG from day one of her reign!

  3. parasabayan parasabayan

    The next hearing for the Tanay Boys will be on the 17th of this month. For the past two hearings, all the court tackled was to whether or not to drop the lesser charges on these men which were supposed to have been prescribed after two years from the occurence of the supposed “act”. As usual, the kangaroo court created by asspweron have a different court martial book. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

  4. Gabriela Gabriela

    But the fact that the Inspector General was compelled to investigate the violations of the detainees human rights after all these months of callous attitude during Esperon’s term is a positive development. Small it may be.

    Credit to the wives for their appearance if Congress.

  5. Gabriela Gabriela

    I’m not fully convinced yet of Yano but definitely he is better than Esperon. Anybody is better than Esperon.

    Baka naman bumubwelo lang.

  6. Gabriela Gabriela

    in (not if) Congress.

  7. parasabayan parasabayan

    The more the wives make noise, the better! The wives can do a lot for their husbands. More power to all of them!

  8. hKofw hKofw

    I hope this is honest-to-goodness act of Gen. Alexander Yano. ‘Hoping also this is the beginning of a brighter future to the AFP in terms of morality. Reconciliation is the best thing Gen. Alexander Yano can do to unify the AFP. Next is building up trust in his leadership and most importantly, loyalty to the constitution. May you live up to your name Gen. Yano – Alexander (Greek meaning “Defender Of Men”).

  9. Very promising nga itong si Yano, huwag sanang magdidikit sa mga bulok para di mahawa.

    May I suggest din na maglagay ng kahit isang kutsarang solignum sa pampaligong tubig niya. Mahirap na baka kapitan ng mga anay!

  10. Valdemar Valdemar

    If there was no death penalty during Rizal’s time, I bet he would still be languishing at Tanay.

  11. chi chi

    Hahahaha! Ano ba yang comment mo, nakakatawa (but I believe you in logic). Si cocoy naman ay dinala pa sa Ellenville si Magellan. Tales do come true in the Enchanted Kingdom of Gloria Arroyo.

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