Fil-Am activist Roxas hopes CA will rule in her favor

After recounting her ordeal over and over, Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas said Thursday that she hopes the Court of Appeals (CA) will grant her protection. “I gave the most truthful account that I did and presented evidence so I hope the honorable court will judge in my favor," Roxas told GMANews.TV in an interview after the CA hearing on her petition for writ of amparo. Roxas sought a writ of amparo – a Spanish word for “protection" – before the Supreme Court on May 28, or days after she was released by gunmen who allegedly abducted her and two others in the northern province of Tarlac. The high tribunal referred her case to the CA. The writ is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission. It denies respondents, such as government authorities and private individuals and entities, the defense of simple denial. So that her case won't be archived, the CA required Roxas to attend at least one hearing to affirm the contents of her affidavit before the court. In the affidavit she executed last June, she claimed that at least 15 armed men abducted her and her companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc, at gunpoint while they were conducting a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac on May 19. Roxas, a member of the US chapter of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said her abductors – some of whom she identified as RC, Dex, James, and a “Bossing" – repeatedly beat her up and tried to make her confess into being a member of the communist New People’s Army (NPA). Last week, Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr. of the pro-military party-list Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) showed pictures and video footage supposedly of Roxas undergoing armed training at an NPA camp in Aurora province. [See: Activist Roxas a rebel, claims group linked to ‘Garci’ tapes]. Roxas later claimed she has reason to believe it was the military who abducted her. She also maintained that she was never involved with the rebel group. [See: I’m not a rebel, says Fil-Am activist] On things to come During the CA hearing, Roxas clarified and added some details to her affidavit. She said, however, that her story remains consistent. “It’s the same as I testified with the Commission on Human Rights and the House of Representatives. I just clarified and added things that I justified," she said. [See: 'Tortured' Fil-Am activist's testimony 'credible' - CHR chief] Roxas said she remains positive about the outcome of her petition. “I'm hoping (that the court will grant me the writ), that’s why I decided to come back," she said. Roxas, who immediately left for the United States after filing the petition, returned to the country last week. Her legal counsel, Rex Fernandez, said he couldn’t tell whether the CA would decide in their favor. “Wala (There’s no indication) but they should have made their decision," he told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. Fernandez said the court has 10 days to come out with a decision on whether or not it would grant Roxas the writ. Roxas refused to divulge whether she would wait for the CA decision or leave the country on Friday as previously reported. “I plan to (leave) soon, I don’t want to disclose," she said. - GMANews.TV