Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions

"G.R. No. 183711 (Edita T. Burgos v. General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., et al.), G.R. No. 183712 (Edita T. Burgos v. General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., et al.); and G.R. No. 183713 (Edita T. Burgos v. Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, et al.).-

On August 19, 2011, Edita T. Burgos (petitioner) filed a Manifestation and Motion and a Motion for Clarificatory Order.

In her Manifestation and Motion, the petitioner alleges that the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) failed to comply or at least, to notify the petitioner of its compliance with the Court�s directive in its June 22, 2010 Resolution, ordering the PNP-CIDG and its incumbent Chief to submit to the Commission on Human Rights [CHR] the records and results of the investigation which the PNP-CIDG claimed to have forwarded to the Department of Justice.

The petitioner adds that General Gilberto Jose C. Roa of the Judge Advocate General (JAG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, JI, AFP, at the time of our June 22, 2010 Resolution; and then Chief of Staff, AFP, General Ricardo David have not furnished her with a copy of their explanation which the Court required them to submit in its July 5, 2011 Resolution. The petitioner prays that she be allowed to examine the documents so submitted to this Court.

In her Motion for Clarificatory Order, the petitioner adverts to the Court of Appeals' (CA's) August 8, 2011 resolution which failed to order the Director General of the PNP, the Chief of the PNP-CIDG and the TJAG to be impleaded in the consolidated cases for habeas corpus and amparo. She asserts that the CA failed to take heed of the Court's pronouncement in its July 5, 2011 Resolution: 

To adjust to the extraordinary nature of Amparo and habeas corpus proceedings and to directly identify the parties bound by these proceedings who have the continuing obligation to comply with our directives, the AFP Chief of Staff, the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, the Director General of the PNP, the Chief of the PNP-CIDG and the TJAG shall be named as parties to this case without need of naming their current incumbents separately from the then incumbent officials that the petitioner named in her original Amparo  and habeas corpus petitions, for possible responsibility and accountability.

The petitioner prays that a Clarificatory Order be issued (i) ordering the Director General of the PNP, the Chief of the PNP-CIDG and the TJAG to be impleaded as respondents in the amparo  and habeas corpus petitions; (ii) requiring them to submit a return of the writ of habeas corpus; and (iii) directing them to comment on the CHR Report. 

At the outset, these motions should have been filed with the CA since this Court already referred both the amparo and the habeas corpus petitions to the CA in our July 5, 2011 Resolution, in order to obviate any delay, however, we resolve the petitioner's Manifestation and Motion by requiring the PNP-CIDG to submit to this Court, instead of the CHR, the records and results of the investigation which the PNP-CIDG claimed to have forwarded to the Department of Justice, or to furnish this Court with proof of their earlier submission to the CHR, copy furnished the petitioner in either case.

We also require General Roa of the TJAG, AFP; the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, JI, AFP, at the time of our June 22, 2010 Resolution, Rear Admiral Cornelio A. dela Cruz, Jr.; and then Chief of Staff, AFP, General David to furnish the petitioner with a copy of their Explanation, without the copies of the documents that we required them to submit exclusively to this Court.

Our observation on the propriety of filing these motions with the CA is emphasized in the petitioner's Motion for Clarificatory Order. There is no ambiguity that this Court has to clarify. While the fallo of our July 5, 2011 Resolution did not expressly contain the directive to implead the incumbent PNP Director General, the Chief of the PNP-CIDG and the TJAG, the quoted portion of our July 5, 2011 Resolution could have been easily resolved by the CA in the petitioner's favor. To stress, their being impleaded is born of necessity to "adjust to the extraordinary nature of Amparo and habeas corpus proceedings and to directly identify the parties bound by these proceedings who have the continuing obligation to comply with our directives."^[1]cralaw

The petitioner has not explained in her motion and we do not see any reason why the incumbent PNP Director General and the Chief of the PNP-CIDG should be required to also file their return to the writ of habeas corpus.

On July 8, 2011, the Court issued a writ of habeas corpus requiring (i) Lt. Harry A. Baliaga; (ii) the incumbent Chief of Staff, AFP; (iii) the incumbent Commanding General, Philippine Army; and (iv) the Commanding Officer of the 56th IB, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, at the time of the disappearance of Jonas Joseph T. Burgos, Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano, to file their verified return on the writ in view of the Cabintoy evidence which purports to establish military involvement in the abduction of Jonas Burgos. This is the reason why we limited to these individuals the duty of filing a return on the writ. Since police involvement in the abduction of Jonas Burgos has not been shown in any significant degree, there is no reason to require the incumbent PNP Director General and the Chief of the PNP-CIDG to also file their return on the writ.

We likewise see no reason to further require the TJAG to separately file its own return on the writ of habeas corpus considering that the habeas corpus respondents have already jointly filed their verified return through the Office of the Solicitor General.

We, however, grant the petitioner's prayer to require the incumbent PNP Director General, the Chief of the PNP-CIDG and the TJAG to file their Comment on the CHR Report with the CA for a more exhaustive ventilation of the parties' positions and arguments.cralaw

WHEREFORE, the Court hereby resolves to:

1. REQUIRE the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to SUBMIT to this Court, instead of the Commission on Human Rights (as required in our June 22, 2010 Resolution), the records and results of the investigation which the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group claimed to have forwarded to the Department of Justice or, if it has already complied with our June 22, 2010 Resolution, to FURNISH  this Court with proof of their submission to the Commission on Human Rights, within ten (10) days from receipt of this Resolution, copy furnished the petitioner in either case;
    
2. REQUIRE General Gilberto Jose C. Roa of the Judge Advocate General, Armed Forces of the Philippines; the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, JI, Armed Forces of the Philippines, at the time of our June 22, 2010 Resolution, Rear Admiral Cornelio A. dela Cruz, Jr.; and then Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Ricardo A. David to FURNISH the petitioner with the copy of their explanation, without the copies of the documents/materials which we required to be released exclusively to this Court in our July 5, 2011 Resolution;
    
3. DENY the petitioner's request to be allowed to examine the documents submitted to this Court per paragraph (i) of the  fallo of our July 5, 201 1 Resolution, without prejudice to our later determination of the relevance and of the advisability of public disclosure of those documents/materials;
    
4. ORDER the incumbent Philippine National Police Director General, the Chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and The Judge Advocate General to be impleaded in these consolidated cases for amparo and habeas corpus pursuant to our July 5, 2011 Resolution;
    
5. DENY the petitioner's prayer that the Philippine National Police Director General, the Chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Judge Advocate General be required to file their return on the writ of habeas corpus; and
    
6. REQUIRE the incumbent Philippine National Police Director General, the Chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and The Judge Advocate General to file their Comment on the Commission on Human Rights' Report with the Court of Appeals, copy furnished the petitioner and this Court."

Abad, J., no part.
Sereno, J., on leave.
Reyes, J., on official leave.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.) ENRIQUETA E. VIDAL
  Clerk of Court

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