AFP chief: No abduction, torture of Fil-Am activist

The military on Wednesday denied that it was involved in last May’s supposed abduction and torture of a Filipino-American activist in Tarlac province and even hinted doubt that such an incident took place. Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado said results of their internal investigation showed that no Army personnel were involved in the alleged abuse of 31-year-old Melissa Roxas in La Paz town last May 19. “We have conducted our own investigation… and the result of the investigation was that there was no one that was reported to be involved in her case," he said in an ambush interview in Camp Aguinaldo. He also said there is doubt that the incident took place since Army chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit had informed him that the 7th Infantry Division, whose area of responsibility includes Tarlac, had not received any incident report on the supposed abduction and torture. “I told the commanding general of the Army (Bangit) to ask their people if there was any incident reported to them, and the feedback was that there was no such incident that happened in their area," he said. He however noted that it is possible that the soldiers were trying to cover-up the case and urged other agencies to look into the case. In her affidavit, Roxas, a member of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said at least 15 armed men abducted her and her companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc, at gunpoint while they were on a medical mission in La Paz. She said they were then brought to a military camp presumed to be Fort Magsaysay, the headquarters of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division, in Nueva Ecija province. Roxas flew to the US shortly after the incident due to alleged threats to her life but returned to the country last Monday to pursue her case against the military. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is set to start its fact-finding investigation into the case on Thursday. Among those summoned to the public hearing was Maj. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, the head of the Army’s 7th ID. Ibrado vowed full cooperation with CHR's investigation. “If there is anyone of our personnel who are pinpointed or identified (as involved), then we will make them available. We will help the investigation, we will not stop or obstruct the investigation," he said. - GMANews.TV