AMCIT IN ALLEGED ABDUCTION TO SUE PHILIPPINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 001363 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND CA/ACS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2019 TAGS: ASEC CASC PHUM PTER RP SUBJECT: AMCIT IN ALLEGED ABDUCTION TO SUE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT IN U.S. COURT REF: MANILA 1113 (ALLEGED AMCIT ABDUCTION AND RELEASE) Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a story widely covered by the Philippine press, an American citizen who claimed to have been abducted by Philippine security forces (reftel) said at a June 27 Los Angeles press conference that she would file a lawsuit against Philippine officials through a U.S. federal court and would also file a complaint with the U.S. State Department. When the alleged victim, Melissa Roxas, first made her charges public in Manila May 25, Mission was able to confirm with her by phone that she was in a safe location and did not require Mission assistance. The FBI Los Angeles Field Office is in communication with Roxas, who has since returned to the U.S., and will attempt to interview her the week of June 29. In addition to the legal case she intends to file in the U.S., Roxas has sought protection from possible retribution by Philippine officials through a petition filed and approved by the Philippine Supreme Court, though Philippine goQrnment officials deny any involvement by security forces in theQalleged abduction. Mission sources indicate that one of the two Filipino companions allegedly abducted alongside Roxas, who is known to be a member of the communist rebel group New People's Army, has charges against him for crimes committed in 2006. END SUMMARY.Q EMBASSY OFFERS ASSISTANCE TO ROXAS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) An American citizen who claims she was abducted and released in May by Philippine security forces (reftel) stated in a June 27 Los Angeles press conference that she would seek damages from the Philippine government through a U.S. federal court. American Citizens Services (ACS) learned of the alleged abduction of the AmCit, Melissa Roxas, through press reports on May 26. Roxas is a member of the U.S. affiliate of the Philippine leftist organization "Bayan" (or "New Patriotic Alliance"),a vocal, anti-U.S. political group which routinely criticizes the Philippine government for human rights abuses and for its receipt of U.S. military assistance. ¶3. (SBU) Attempts by ACS to speak by telephone to Roxas on that day were unsuccessful; a woman by the name of Cristina Gonzales, who identified herself as Roxas' cousin, would not ;allow the ACS Chief to speak directly to Roxas. On May 27, the ACS Chief finally spoke by telephone with a person who identified herself as Melissa Roxas; the woman said that she was in good physical condition and that she felt safe at a relative's home. Roxas said she did not want to discuss the abduction because she was traumatized, and noted that she was making arrangements to return to the U.S. as soon as possible. The ACS Chief offered to put Roxas in touch with Embassy security officers -- either via phone or in person, at her family's residence -- to discuss concerns about her personal safety, but she declined the offer. In a separate conversation that day with LEGATT's Crime Victims Assistance representative, Roxas also declined to provide an affidavit about her experience but agreed to speak to the FBI upon her return to the U.S. The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office has since communicated with Roxas via telephone and is attempting to set up a time to obtain her statement about the case during the week of June 29. ROXAS SEEKS PHILIPPINE COURT'S PROTECTION -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Before returning to the U.S., Roxas filed a petition June 1 with the Philippine Supreme Court for a protective writ known as a "writ of amparo," which compels government offices to protect the constitutional rights of citizens, particularly in cases ofQisappearances or torture, and to produce certain information relatQto these cases. The Supreme Court granted Roxas' petition on June 9, ordering the Armed Forces of the Philippines to comment on the alleged abduction. Roxas' petition also seeks to protect her from 11 individuals, including President Arroyo, Defense Secretary Qdoro, and the military and police chiefs. Press reports noted that a judge from the Court of Appeals charged with the petition's follow-on hearing questioned the utility of the writ, given that Roxas had already returned to the U.S. and was therefore outside Philippine jurisdiction, although Roxas' attorney in the Philippines said she was wilQng to return to the Philippines to pursue her case. For its scheduled June 29 hearing, the Appeals Court requested the presence of the two companions allegedly abducted alongside Roxas who could be witnesses for the petition, although their present whereabouts are unknown (see para 7). ROXAS' ATTORNEY OUTLINES LEGAL STRATEGY -------------- ¶5. (C) In a June 27 press conference statement from Washington, D.C., another of Roxas' attorneys, Arnedo Valera, said that there were numerous legal options at her disposal to hold the Philippine military and government accountable for her purported kidnapping and torture, including the filing of a tort action in U.S. federal courts for damages. Violation of international human rights law, he asserted, would also constitute a violation of U.S. domestic law and could provide additional grounds for a case. Roxas could also seek a special UN investigation or file a complaint with the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. While a creative attorney could file a case in a U.S. federal court, it remains to be seen what specific individuals would be named in a lawsuit, or if they would be the same top officials named in the petition for the writ of amparo. PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT DENIES ALLEGATIONS, INVESTIGATES -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Philippine government denied the allegations that its security forces were involved in the abduction of Roxas and her two companions. Philippine State Solicitor Bernardo Villar, who was seeking dismissal of the writ of amparo petition, said that the abduction of Roxas and her two companions was a "stage-managed event to achieve spectacular and theatrical results" to damage the reputation of the Philippine government and earn "political capital." Malacanang Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told reporters June 29 that the government was prepared to face the allegations made by Roxas and to cooperate with investigations. An Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson denied any AFP involvement in the alleged abduction, saying that the AFP "initiated a probe upon learning of the issue last month, and our investigation showed that the (AFP) in Tarlac was not responsible for anything that happened to Ms. Roxas." The spokesperson welcomed efforts by Roxas to engage the U.S. State Department and the UN, calling it an "opportunity to clarify that the AFP has nothing to do with her alleged torture and abduction." POSSIBLE NPA TIES TO OTHER ABDUCTION VICTIMS -------------- ¶7. (C) Two companions allegedly abducted May 19 alongside Roxas, John Edward Jandoc and Juanito Carabeo, also members of Bayan, were reportedly released by their captors, but their whereabouts remain unknown. Philippine police officials earlier told RSO that both Jandoc and Carabeo were allegedly members of the NPA and that Jandoc had not been heard from since his disappearance from the Bataan area ten years ago (reftel). Mission sources inQate that Carabeo has charges pending against him from 2006 for arson and attempted assassination as an NPA member. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Roxas' decision to discuss her alleged abduction experience with the press will reinforce Philippine government beliefs that Roxas and the Bayan organization -- and their other supporters in the "Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign" -- are seeking to garner political capital from Roxas' story. Leaders of Bayan, which the Philippine government privately calls a "front group" for the NPA's communist insurgency, have repeatedly criticized ongoing cooperation between the Philippine and U.S. militaries, and appear to be using the alleged Roxas abduction in an attempt to draw connections between U.S. military aid and human rights abuses by Philippine forces, with the apparent goal of ending U.S. financial support for the Philippine military altogether. Post agencies, including LEGATT, Department of Justice, and ACS, will continue to monitor developments in this case. KENNEY