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Men posing as cops took missing CAR activist, says witness


LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A second eye witness has also claimed before the court that missing Cordillera activist James Balao’s abductors introduced themselves as a police officers. Testifying on Wednesday at the Regional Trial Court branch 63 on the second hearing of a writ of amparo petition filed by Balao’s lawyer, the witness using the code name “Anvil" for security reasons, swore he saw armed introducing themselves as policemen taking Balao. Last week, the first witness named only as “Jun" also told presiding Judge Benigno Galacgac that the 47-year old activist from the left-leaning Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) was taken by the supposed policemen because of his involvement in illegal drugs. Chief Supt. Eugene Martin, police director for the Cordillera Administrative Region, said his command did not take Balao and was not interested in him. Martin bewailed that Balao’s colleagues were “muddling" the issue and refused to cooperate with investigators. He said probers would have wanted to question those whom had direct contact with when he was supposedly traveling from his temporary house in Baguio to Tomay barangay in La Trinidad where he was taken. In particular, Martin said, probers wanted to question a certain “Uncle John", a certain “Rene" and others residing in the same boarding house prior to Balao’s disappearance “but the CPA is not responsive and not cooperating to the request." Martin said investigators believe that if not for “insider" information on the activities of Balao, he would not have been taken with precision. Earlier, the police theorized that aside from suspects like the police, military and personal dealings is the angle of internal wrangling within Balao’s organization. Martin they are very transparent in the investigation of the case and also the inspection of their camps “because we are not hiding anybody despite the fact that the CPA is not cooperating." As far as the CPA is concerned, however had dismissed such claims by Martin and had insisted that if Balao was taken either by the military or police- GMANews.TV
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