DND files perjury raps vs two activists who accused military of abduction

Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of National Defense (DND) said Wednesday they 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. &quot;Now, it’s up to the prosecutors already. They will be given due process,&quot; he said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum. &quot;I will not allow serious processes to be used as a key attempt to shame the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines).&quot;The defense chief said they had enough evidence to discredit the claims of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/16/23/groups-doubt-claim-2-missing-environmental-activists-surrendered">Groups doubt claim 2 missing environmental activists &#x27;surrendered&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/10/23/chr-probes-alleged-abduction-of-ip-rights-activists">CHR investigates alleged abduction of IP rights activists in Oriental Mindoro</a></li></ul>Authorities said the pair surrendered to authorities after voluntarily leaving &quot;the communist movement&quot;. But they told a government-organized press conference on Sept. 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.&quot;I reviewed the case personally and I am convinced that they are lying,&quot; Teodoro said. &quot;Hindi ifa-file ang kaso kung hindi malakas.&quot;(We won&#x27;t file the case unless it is strong.)Teodoro said Castro and Tamano&#x27;s statements could have been &quot;scripted&quot; to humiliate the military.&quot;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],&quot; he said.Tamano, a coordinator of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, said that she and Castro were walking on the road on Sept. 2 when they were grabbed. Activist and environmental groups earlier said the two were taken in Orion, Bataan while researching on Manila Bay reclamation.&quot;Ang totoo po ay dinukot kami ng mga militar sakay ng van. Napilitan din kami na sumurrender dahil pinagbantaan yung buhay namin. &#x27;Yun po ang totoo,&quot; Castro of AKAP Ka Manila Bay. (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.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/19/23/surrendered-activists-say-they-were-abducted">&#x27;Surrendered&#x27; activists say they were abducted, reject coerced affidavits</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2813439" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Department of National Defense has filed perjury and grave scandal charges against 2 activists who accused the military of abduction.

DND files perjury raps vs two activists who accused military of abduction | ABS-CBN

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DND files perjury raps vs two activists who accused military of abduction

DND files perjury raps vs two activists who accused military of abduction

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 18, 2023 04:27 PM PHT

|

Updated Oct 18, 2023 07:11 PM PHT

Read More:

Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

subpoena

abduction

environmentalists

activists

Jonila Castro

Jhed Tamano

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