November 2011 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
[G.R. No. 183711 : November 29, 2011]
EDITA T. BURGOS v. GEN. HERMOGENES ESPERON, JR., LT. GEN. ROMEO P. TOLENTINO, MAJ. GEN. JUANITO GOMEZ, MAJ. GEN. DELFIN BANGIT, LT. COL. NOEL CLEMENT, LT. COL. MELQUIADES FELICIANO AND DIRECTOR GENERAL OSCAR CALDERON
"G.R. No. 183711 (Edita T. Burgos v. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Lt. Gen. Romeo P. Tolentino, Maj, Gen. Juanito Gomez, Maj. Gen. Delfin Bangit, Lt. Col. Noel Clement, Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano and Director General Oscar Calderon) and G.R. No. 183713 (Edita T. Burgos v. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and Director General Avelino Razon, Jr.)
On November 2, 2011, we received a letter dated October 28, 2011 from Commissioner Jose Manuel S. Mamauag, Team Leader, CHR Special Investigation Team requesting for photocopies of the following documents:
- SOI of the officers and enlisted personnel of the 56th IB, 7th ID from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007;
- SOI of the intelligence operatives who were involved in the ERAP 5 incident; and
- SOI of 2Lt. Fernando who was a member of the 56th IB, 7th ID.
Commissioner Mamauag asserts in his letter that they need the above-cited documents to help them comply with the directives in our October 24, 2011 Resolution. Commissioner Mamauag also expressed the CHR's "solemn commitment to hold these documents with utmost confidentiality as we will use them only for the exclusive purpose of this request."
We resolve to deny the CHR's request for photocopies of the above-mentioned documents considering the confidential nature of the requested documents and the fact that the relevance of these documents to the present case has not yet been established. We refer the CHR to our July 5, 2011 Resolution where we pointedly stated that these documents shall be "released exclusively to this Court for our examination to determine their relevance to the present case and the advisability of their public disclosure."
We see no reason at this time to release these confidential documents since their relevance to the present case has not been established to our satisfaction. It is precisely for this reason that we issued our October 24, 2011 Resolution and directed the CHR to submit to this Court, within thirty (30) days from receipt of the Resolution, a Report with its recommendations of its ongoing investigation of Jonas Burgos' abduction, and the affidavit of Virgilio Eustaquio, if any. Simply stated, it is only after the CHR's faithful compliance with our October 24, 2011 Resolution that we will be able to determine the relevance of the requested documents to the present case.cralaw
WHEREFORE, the Court hereby resolves to:
1) DENY the Commission on Human Rights' request for photocopies of the: (i) SOI of the officers and enlisted personnel of the 56th IB, 7th ID from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007; (ii) SOI of the intelligence operatives who were involved in the ERAP 5 incident; and (iii) SOI of 2Lt. Fernando who was a member of the 56th IB, 7th ID; and
2) REQUIRE the Commission on Human Rights to comply with the terms of our October 24, 2011 Resolution.
The Court further resolves to NOTE the Compliance dated October 28, 2011 filed by Atty. Eduardo S. Villena, Chief, Legal Division, Philippine National Police (PNP), Camp Crame, Quezon City, by authority of Atty. Samuel D. Pagdilao, Jr., Director, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, PNP, pursuant to the resolution of September 6, 2011."
Abad, J., no part.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) ENRIQUETA E. VIDAL
Clerk of Court