Cory on Burgos' abduction: 'No harm must come to him'

On the fourth day of Jonas Joseph Burgos’ disappearance, former President Corazon Aquino joined those who expressed concern on the alleged abduction of a son of the country’s press freedom icon. “I view with the deepest concern the disappearance and apparent abduction by unknown forces of the farmer-activist Jonas Joseph Burgos, son of the late world press freedom fighter Jose Burgos Jr. who lit our paths in the dark, long years of martial rule," said Aquino in a statement. “I appeal to the highest authorities of the land to send the clear signal to the field, that Jonas Burgos must be surfaced immediately by whoever is holding him, and that no harm must come to him," the former president added. She said that if the government has a case against Jonas, “we believe that (he) must be allowed to defend himself in court, and not become part of the statistics of the disappeared and others who have fallen victim to extra-judicial punishment in these troubled times." “I pray for the safety of Jonas and that of the rest of the family of Joe Burgos. May Our Lord have mercy on them!," she said On early Saturday afternoon, security guards of a mall in Quezon City tried to help Jonas from being taken by four armed men and a woman. However, witnesses to the incident said the alleged abductors stopped the security guards and introduced themselves as policemen. This was the information provided to the media by Dr Edita Chavez Tronqued Burgos, Jonas’ mother on Wednesday, based on the testimonies that she gathered from witnesses. Mrs Burgos said two witnesses and a relative established the presence of her son at Hapag Kainan inside Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on April 28. She said the mall guards tried to help Jonas, but the abductors roared at them and said: “Pare, pulis, adding that they were on legitimate operation. - GMANews.TV