of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

When they came to know of the abduction, his relatives and
co-workers immediately went to a police station to report the
incident. It was found that the van involved in the abduction was
seen parked in front of the Aurora Electric Company, a few meters
away from an Internet café where Estriber went, an hour
beforehand. Baler Police Station personnel immediately put up
checkpoints but failed to recover the victim or trace his location.
Estriber’s family called up radio stations asking for anyone who
may have seen him to come forward. However, they failed to get
any response.
The Bataris Formation Center is an alternative learning centre
for lay people. On 25 December 2005 its women’s accommodation
was deliberately set on fire. Staffers suspected that the arson
was the handiwork of the 48th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army
in Aurora. Personnel from this unit had earlier harassed Alfonso
van Zijl, secretary general of the Justice and Peace Advocacy
Group—which is situated in the same compound—and Manding
Colcol, staff member of Bataris, on December 14.
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VICTIM:
1. Pepito Campus
2. Leonardo Parungao
INCIDENT: Disappearance
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Four armed men in police
sweatshirts
DATE: 18 February 2006
AHRC UA-099-2006
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VICTIMS:
1. Reynaldo Manalo
2. Raymond Manalo
INCIDENT: Disappearance
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
24th IB personnel, led by
Master Sgt. Rollie Castillo
DATE: 14 February 2006
AHRC UA-077-2006
Pepito Campus & Leonardo Parungao:
Taken by police or someone else?
On 18 February 2006 at 2pm, Pepito Campus and Leonardo
Parungao were riding in their barangay service vehicle with
Elizabeth Parungao, a community youth leader, and around 10
other student youth residents of Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao.
They were coming from Jaen, Nueva Ecija and passing between
Barangay Luyos and Buliran (near a garbage dumpsite) in San
Antoni, Nueva Ecija when four armed men wearing long-sleeved
sweatshirts with POLICE on them stopped the vehicle at a
checkpoint. They ordered Campus and Parungao to step outside
of the vehicle. According to the students, one of the soldiers forced
Parungao to the ground, stepped on his head, tied his hands behind
his back and forced him and Campus into a maroon van that had
no license plate. The van then headed towards Barangay Marawa,
Jaen and La Paz, Tarlac. The victims’ whereabouts remain
unknown.
The others in the vehicle immediately informed the victims’
families, who in turn reported the incident to the police in San
Antonio. The police, however, denied having set up a checkpoint
and deploying policemen in the area where the victims were
abducted. The policemen instead said that soldiers led by Captain
Renato Rebuelto frequently patrol in that place, but could not
give further information.
Reynaldo & Raymond Manalo:
Abducted for not coming to meeting?
Reynaldo Manalo and his brother Raymond were illegally
arrested and subsequently disappeared on 14 February 2006 by
five men believed to be military agents who first broke into their
parents’ residence in Barangay Bohol na Mangga, San Ildefonso,
Bulacan after 2pm. The perpetrators were armed with rifles and
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article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1