of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

not with them. The soldiers then produced Allan, who appeared
to be haggard, tired and unkempt. Glen urged the soldiers to
release his brother. The troops, however, ignored his request.
Glen then went to ask his employer, Arsenio Asuncion, to
affirm his brother’s identity, but the soldiers had already left when
they arrived back.
Glen and his companions went to the house of a Barangay
Council member, Granil, to seek refuge. While Granil’s wife was
preparing lunch, Glen saw a tank with about 20-30 soldiers
arriving nearby. Glen and his companions immediately left and
ran to a friend’s house to stay overnight.
At around 7am on February 1, Glen was informed that his
brother was already dead and the body was at the Funeraria
Corpuz funeral home. When the family went, they found that
Allan was half-naked and his body had suffered multiple gunshot
wounds. Dante’s body was also later identified in the same funeral
home by his relatives, also with gunshot wounds to his chest
and marks on some parts of his body.
60
VICTIM: Mateo Morales
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Cafgu personnel attached to
the 29th IB, commanded by
Lt. Col. Taboga
DATE: 24 January 2006
AHRC UA-057-2006
Mateo Morales:
Death follows series of attacks and threats
Mateo Morales, a staff member of the Religious of the Good
Shepherd (RGS) – Tribal Filipino Ministry, was killed in his house
in San Luis, Agusan del Sur, Mindanao on 24 January 2006.
Morales suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his chest and died on
his way to hospital. Although the perpetrator has not been
identified, there are indications that he may have connections
with the civilian militia unit Cafgu, attached to the 29th Infantry
Battalion of the Philippine Army, which is operating in the area.
Days after Morales’ shooting, four to six unidentified armed
Cafgu were seen close to the victim’s house, during his wake.
On January 26, two unidentified armed men also tried to enter a
house where Morales’ colleagues were staying, but they failed.
Morales’ wife Aileen believes that the Cafgu could be involved in
his death.
A reliable source said the result of the investigation made by
San Luis Municipal Station head Police Senior Inspector Nilo
Teodoro Texon into Morales’ case was not impartial and has failed
to reach any conclusive findings. Texon did not include the
testimonies of the victim’s family, and ignored incidents prior to
Morales’ death which indicated the possible involvement of Cafgu.
The RGS ministry has been vocal in denouncing alleged human
rights violations perpetrated by Cafgu members and the military
in tribal communities. There had been several earlier incidents
of violence allegedly perpetrated by Cafgu against villagers
associated with the ministry.
On 17 November 2005, unidentified armed men attempted to
break into one of the houses of the ministry’s community leader
while he was sleeping. Next day, there were combat boots prints
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article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1