DOJ chief to order NBI probe on Melissa Roxas case

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday said she will direct the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct its own probe on the alleged abduction and torture of Filipina-American activist Melissa Roxas in 2009. De Lima said she will order the NBI to look into Roxas’ case after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) recommended further investigation on the incident. "If I’m not mistaken, one of the recommendations of the CHR is for the NBI to pursue further [investigation]... After I read the entire report, I will issue the necessary order," she told reporters on Wednesday. De Lima, who used to head the CHR during the Arroyo administration, said the commission’s resolution released last February did not "categorically" identify who was behind Roxas’ alleged abduction and torture. "Practically, military involvement was ruled out, pero wala namang categorical finding who did it. May indications that it could be the NPA [New People’s Army], but not categorical. At this point, we do not know who did the abduction and the torture," she said. The CHR, in its February 14 resolution, said there is "insufficient evidence" to support Roxas’ claim that members of the military held her in captivity and subjected her to physical and mental maltreatment in a house in Tarlac in May 2009. [See: CHR ‘practically clears’ AFP of torturing Melissa Roxas – Bayan] The same resolution likewise said the CHR "has received information that indicates the possibility that members of the NPA committed the kidnapping and other human rights violation on Roxas." The military had earlier welcomed the CHR’s findings on Roxas’ abduction, while the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has directly leadership on the NPA, has denied any involvement in the incident. [See: Army ‘vindicated’ by CHR report on Melissa Roxas case] — RSJ, GMA News