The Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday said it filed perjury and grave scandal charges against two environmental activists who accused the military of abduction after going missing in Bataan.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the cases were filed two weeks ago.
“Now, it’s up to the prosecutors already. They will be given due process,” he said.
“I will not allow serious processes to be used as a key attempt to shame the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Teodoro added.
The defense chief also said that they had enough evidence to discredit the claims of the two youth activists, Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.
Authorities said the pair surrendered to authorities after voluntarily leaving “the communist movement”.
But they told a government-organized press conference on September 19 that they had been abducted and coerced into signing affidavits earlier that month.
Teodoro said subpoenas were issued against the activists for a preliminary investigation.
“I reviewed the case personally and I am convinced that they are lying,” Teodoro said.
“We won’t file the case unless it is strong,” he added
Teodoro said Castro and Tamano’s statements could have been “scripted” to humiliate the military.
“Well, they [AFP] acted in good faith. Even the stepfather of one of the surrenderees who was there, he ensured that these two were not intimidated or abducted. He even offered to provide private counsel to his stepdaughter… So, this was a scripted act to embarrass [the military],” he said.
Jhed Tamano, a coordinator of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, said that she and Jonila Castro were walking on the road on September 2 when they were taken. Activist and environmental groups earlier said the two were nabbed in Orion, Bataan while researching Manila Bay reclamation.
“The truth is, the military forced us into a van. We were forced to say we surrendered because our lives were being threatened. That is the truth,” Castro of AKAP Ka Manila Bay.
