PERRYSCOPE

Pastor Berlin: Criminal or political prisoner?
PERRY DIAZ

On May 27, 2007, Pastor Berlin Guerrero -- after a Sunday worship service at the local United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) chapel in Binan, Laguna -- was abducted by armed men and whisked away in van. He was the 197th victim of abduction under President Gloria Arroyo's watch.

Pastor Berlin had a long history of involvement with progressive organizations. In the late 1970s he was the founding chair of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines- Southern Tagalog. He led the campus-based "mosquito press" in attacking the Marcos dictatorship.

At the time of his abduction, Pastor Berlin was involved with Bayan Muna and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), two known leftist organizations. According to police reports, the basis for his abduction and detention was an old warrant for "inciting to sedition" and another for the alleged murder of a certain Noli Yatco in 1990. The only "witness" to the alleged murder, Fernando Hinto, had identified Pastor Berlin from a "marked" group picture. However, during the preliminary investigation before Judge Myrna Lim Verano in 1992, Hinto did not appear in court.

According to the transcripts of the proceedings, no proof was presented to link Pastor Berlin to the murder of Yatco. Nevertheless, Judge Verano filed the "information for murder" from which an arrest warrant was issued, an act considered unusual and anomalous.

Pastor Berlin claimed that he was not aware of the arrest warrant issued against him 16 years ago. It was revealed that the arrest warrant was sent to the wrong address; thus, Pastor Berlin was never served to appear in court. He petitioned Judge Matias Garcia of the Bacoor RTC to order his release from detention and to annul the warrant issued by Judge Verano in 1992 for lack of legal basis. But Judge Garcia ruled the murder charge to proceed.

Pastor Berlin's case became an international cause celebre and ignited worldwide protests. The Philippines- Canada Task Force on Human Rights issued a statement deploring the "grave abuse of discretion of the local court to deny the motions for his release." Further, the group said: "The arrest of Pastor Guerrero was illegal and not authorized by a warrant. The warrant that was eventually obtained was not supported by any witness appearing in court when it was issued in 1992. Records of the murder charge expose an utter lack of probable cause." Consequently, the UCCP and several other organizations petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss the charges on the grounds of false arrest and lack of evidence.

A year later, Pastor Berlin is still in jail and his case still in limbo. He wrote a letter which was subsequently released by his wife and posted on the Internet. He said: "One year ago, operatives of the Naval Intelligence Security Force (NISF) snatched me away from my family. Terror and shock was written on their faces and of those who witnessed the late afternoon abduction.

No warrants were presented by the men in plainclothes. I was handcuffed, blindfolded and subjected to physical and mental torture for more than twelve hours. Finding nothing to convict me of any crime, they turned me over to the Cavite Philippine National Police (PNP) at its headquarters in Imus, Cavite.

The Police tried to cover up the abduction by saying the arrest was legal and presented two old warrants of arrest – one was for inciting to sedition and the other for murder. The first one was served to me in 1991 and have posted bail for my freedom. The case did not prosper and there was no court litigation.

The arrest warrant for murder issued in 1992 arose from the killing of a union leader in 1990 where I had nothing to do about. It was the PC-INP Investigator who linked me to the case by showing a marked photograph to the alleged lone witness. The RTC Judge who issued the warrant did not personally investigate the witness nor conduct a preliminary investigation. Since I did not receive any subpoena, I was not given a chance to answer the charges.

"I stand pat on the belief that the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration is responsible for my abduction, torture and incarceration through its so-called anti-terrorism program now implemented under the Human Security Act of 2007. My case is clearly a counter-insurgency operation which, like any other operation conducted by military elements, have grossly violated my rights as a citizen. And now I ask what has the GMA government done to those who have unlawfully arrested me, tortured me, and caused my family and friends to suffer?

"The recent abduction, torture and four-day involuntary detention of my co-worker UCCP Pastor Rodel Canja, which I vehemently denounce, only proves how stone-hearted the Arroyo Government until now. It has never abandoned its unjust annihilative war against its own people. Its rhetoric of peace and peace talks serve only to mask its beastly character." Unquote.

Recently, the Supreme Court finally acted on Pastor Berlin's petition and ordered the Court of Appeals to investigate his abduction and alleged torture. The high court said, "In view of the seriousness of the allegations of the violations of the liberty and dignity of a citizen who is said to be under detention, and in order that this case be acted upon with dispatch, the Court, instead of dismissing this petition outright, hereby resolves to remand the case to the Court of Appeals."

Pastor Berlin's prosecution -- nay, persecution! -- is not a solitary case. Recently, a delegation from the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, USA arrived in the Philippines to investigate allegations of military abuses. They confirmed that there were indeed human rights violations in the country.

The 18-member group said: "We feel that with the government's counter-insurgency program, Filipinos are again experiencing times reminiscent of the dark days of Martial Law where summary execution, illegal arrests and detention were common occurrences." They vowed to lobby U.S. Congress to link human rights violations to U.S. military aid to the Philippines. They believed that American taxpayers should not pay for military aid to a government that perpetuates gross human rights abuses.

With the case of Pastor Berlin Guerrero now in the Court of Appeals, he is finally going to have his day in court, albeit belatedly. The question is: will the rule of law prevail? Or will he become another political prisoner whose fate shall be determined by the rule of man. (PerryDiaz@gmail. com)