Republic of the Philippines Supreme Court

Manila Public Information Office

EN BANC UPDATE Ref: SC-PIO-UPDATE-0001 Date: 12 April 2013 Contact: Chief, PIO (0908.869.7159) SUBJECT: EDITA T. BURGOS v. GENERAL HERMOGENES ESPERON JR., ET AL, G.R. Nos. 183711, 183712, and 183713 In connection with the Urgent Ex Parte Motion Ex Abundanti Cautela filed on 1 April 2013 by petitioner Mrs. Edita T. Burgos (“Mrs. Burgos”), the Supreme Court En Banc, on 11 April 2013,1 took note of the Motion and resolved to, among others, require--

“the present respondents in G.R. No. 183711 and G.R. No. 183713, including Lt. Harry A. Baliaga, Jr. together with the incumbent Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Lt. Gen Emmanuel T. Bautista, the incumbent Commanding General, Philippine Army, the incumbent Commanding Officer of the 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, the incumbent 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 Felicano to FILE their COMMENT on the petitioner’s Urgent Ex Parte Motion Ex Abundanti Cautela together with the newly discovered evidence sealed and attached to the Motion within ten (10) days from receipt of this Resolution.” (emphasis in the original)

The Court also directed –

“the incumbent Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista to: (i) NOTE the military personnel listed in the After Apprehension Report dated April 30, 2007 (attached as sealed material to Edita T. Burgos’s motion of April 1, 2013) as members of the Task Organization-72 MICO and Task Organization-56IB; (ii) SUBMIT to the Court a Confidential Report on the present location and/or whereabouts of these military personnel; and (iii) ENSURE that these military personnel can be located and served

1 The Resolution will be issued in due course, through the Clerk of Court En Banc.

2

2

with the processes that this Court may serve, if any.” (emphasis in the original)

Mrs. Burgos had asked the Court to order the persons named in the sealed documents attached to her Motion to be impleaded in the proceedings before the Court of Appeals in connection with her Petition for the Writ of Amparo (CA-G.R. SP No. 00008-WA) and for the Supreme Court to issue a writ of Amparo on the basis of the newly-discovered evidence (sealed and attached to her Motion). Finally, Mrs. Burgos had asked that the cases be referred to the Court of Appeals for further hearing on the newly-discovered evidence. Taking note also of Mrs. Burgos’s claims that she fears for her own personal security in light of the sensitive nature of the newly-discovered evidence, the Court resolved to issue a Temporary Protection Order in favor of the petitioner Edita T. Burgos and all the members of her immediate family, pursuant to Section 14 (a) of the Rule on the Writ of Amparo; related to this TEPO, the Court resolved to--

“DIRECT the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to provide security and protection to the petitioner Edita T. Burgos and her immediate family as provided above, pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Rule on the Writ of Amparo; and to FURNISH this Court a Confidential Memorandum on the security and protection arrangements accorded to petitioner Edita T. Burgos and her immediate family, within five (5) days from receipt of this Resolution.”

Finally, the Court also resolved to “DIRECT the National Bureau of Investigation to coordinate with and provide direct investigative assistance to the Commission on Human Rights as the latter may require, pursuant to the authority granted under the Court’s June 22, 2010 Resolution.”

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