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Task Force 211
Lauds AFP for Full Cooperation
DOJ Undersecretary Ricardo R. Blancaflor who
chairs Task Force 211, otherwise known as the
Presidential Task Force Against Political
Violence, commends the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) for its full cooperation with
the Task Force’s efforts in addressing the issue
of political and extrajudicial killings in the
country. |
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left to right : Dr. Idabel Pagulayan, Col.
Benedicto Jose, Asec. Ian Norman Dato (OPA),
Atty. Hazel Valdez, Atty. Arceli Ragsac and
Ramos Family with the widowed Mrs. Lily Ramos |
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The AFP recently turned
over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
component of the Task Force 211 the person of the
Philippine Army soldier PFC Roderick dela Cruz, accused
in the murder of labor union leader Ricardo Ramos in
October 2005 inside the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City.
This after Task Force 211 presented to the AFP a copy of
the warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court
of Tarlac City, Branch 65, in Criminal Case No. 14419
entitled “People of the Philippines versus PFC Roderick
dela Cruz a.k.a. Joshua dela Cruz”. It appeared that the
AFP did not have previous knowledge of the said pending
case and warrant of arrest against dela Cruz. The NBI
which is presently holding dela Cruz in custody has
returned the pending warrant of arrest to the court.
It will be recalled that Ricardo Ramos was a peasant
leader who was gunned down at his own residence on
October 15, 2005. He headed the Central Azucarera de
Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU), a union of workers toiling
the Hacienda Luisita, an estate owned and operated by
the family of former Presudent Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
of the Cojuangco Clan of Tarlac.
The search for dela Cruz after Task Force 211 learned
about the case in the course of its active monitoring of
cases nationwide involving political violence and those
tagged as extrajudicial or extralegal killings cases.
The case of dela Cruz is just one of the more or less
220 cases being monitored by the Task Force, including
cases involving deaths or killings of activists and
media personalities. (A complete listing can be accessed
at the Task Force’s website – www.taskforce211.com.ph)
the tracking of these cases is handled by the Task
Force’s Operations Group headed by Assistant Secretary
Ian Norman Dato from the Office of the Political Adviser
(OPA) in Malacanan.
“This clearly negates the existence of the supposed
culture of impunity of which the government is being
accused”, said Usec. Blancaflor who is presently on an
official mission out of the country.
Incidentally, Mrs. Lily Ramos, the widow of victim
Ricardo Ramos, and Mr. Romy Ramos, the latter’s brother,
who thought all the while that the case has been
dismissed by the court, was surprised to learn otherwise
from Task Force 211 representatives who informed them
about the turn-over of dela Cruz to the NBI. They then
expressed gratitude to the government, and the Task
Force in particular, for their efforts in ensuring that
every Filipino, regardless of their status in life, gets
justice in this country.
Pursuant to Task Force 211’s principle of transparency,
the proceedings of this case will be monitored and
reported by volunteer law students from the Angeles
University Foundation School of Law. It will be recalled
that Task Force 211 and the AUF School of Law signed a
Memorandum of Agreement on February 04, 2008 for the
monitoring and reporting of political and extrajudicial
killings cases in Region 3. |
