Bato backs filing perjury raps vs. 2 environment activists

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Wednesday encouraged the Department of National Defense (DND) to push through with the filing of perjury charges against the two environment activists who said they were abducted by the military after they went missing.

During the deliberation of the Senate Committee on Finance on DND's proposed P229.9-billion budget for 2024, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said cases against Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro are now being prepared.

Tamano and Castro earlier retracted what they said in an affidavit, denying that they surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 70th Infantry Battalion (70IB) as claimed by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The activists said they were forced to turn themselves in because they were threatened.

"May case preparation ngayon, inter-agency case preparation for the filing of perjury charges sa kanila. Nire-review lang ang mga sworn statements ng mga testigo," Teodoro said.

(There is a case preparation now, a multi-agency case preparation for the filing of perjury charges against them. The sworn statements of the witnesses are being reviewed.)

Dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and a staunch supporter of NTF-ELCAC, said the DND should indeed press perjury charges against Tamano and Castro.

"We should do that. I am encouraging you. Grabe 'yung maka-kaliwa, grabe maka-jump sa bandwagon nung epekto na 'yun. Talagang all-out sila. Dapat tayo rin, sumagot din tayo. Parang lumalabas na para bang inaamin na lang natin na totoo ang sinasabi nila," he said.

(The leftists are really jumping on the bandwagon following their retraction. They are really all-out. We must answer that. It seems like we are just admitting that what they are saying is true.)

Teodoro earlier said Tamano and Castro, who were turned over to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), could not have been coerced to surrender.

Lessons learned

Dela Rosa, who is also a former head of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the development should serve as a lesson for the security forces, especially to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr.

"Lessons learned, General Brawner. Ingat mag-entertain ng mga kalaban dahil bigla kayong saksakin sa likuran niyan. Masyado tayong mabait, masyado na tayong gentleman. Masyado tayong mapagbigay to the point na 'yun pala, nilalason na pala tayo sa sarili nating tubig," he said.

(Be careful when it comes to entertaining enemies because you will suddenly be stabbed on the back. We are too kind, we are too gentlemanly. We are too generous to the point that we are being poisoned in our own waters.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News