"4 Yanks told to comment on death of Pinoy interpreter" - 27 July 2010 (Tuesday)

4 Yanks told to comment on death of Pinoy interpreter
Malaya – www.malaya.com.ph
Tuesday, July 27, 2010



THE Court of Appeals has ordered four American soldiers who were stationed at the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP) in Zamboanga City to shed light on the mysterious death of Filipino interpreter Gregan Cardeño inside the US barracks last February and Army Maj. Javier Ignacio.



The CA’s Special 17th Division directed the respondents to file within five days their verified return of the writ of amparo and habeas data issued by the Supreme Court last month, in line with the petition filed by the families of Cardeño and Ignacio.



The SC issued the writs and remanded the case to the CA after finding merit in the petition filed by the families of Cardeño and Ignacio.



The US soldiers were a Capt. Boyer, MSgt. Gines, Capt. Michael Kay, and Lt. JG Theresa Donnely.



"In order to define or limit the issues in this case and mark the evidence to be presented, the Court resolves to set the case for preliminary conference on July 29, 2010 and hearing on August 4, 2010 and August 11, 2010," the CA ruled.



Other respondents were then President Arroyo, in her capacity as commander-in-chief; the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission; PNP chief Jesus Verzosa; the JSOTFP; Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) commanding officer of the Philippine Army; a Gen. Aldo of the 103rd Infantry Brigade; Col. Felix Castro, also of the 103rd IB; SPO3 Ali Rangiris, SPO3 Mayaman Angintaopan, Marawi City Police Station; PO2 Mago, police intelligence officer; Tomas Rivera III and Skylink, a subcontractor of the US Army, where Cardeño applied as interpreter.



Court records showed Cardeño died two days after he was hired as interpreter for US troops under the JSOTF-Balikatan in Camp Ranao, Marawi City, the home of the 103rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.



Cardeño applied last Jan. 30, 2010 with Skylink.



He then flew out of the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga City, supposedly for Camp Siongco in Sinsuat, Maguindanao to start work on Feb. 1, but instead he was flown to the JSOTFP military quarters of the 103rd IB in Camp Ranao.



On Feb. 2, Cardeño was pronounced a suicide by US troops and Skylink.



Cardeño’s family was informed of his death through Ignacio, a family friend and a military officer of the Wesmincom. Ignacio was the one who informed Cardeño about the job opening at Skylink.

The Marawi police through Ringiris went to the scene of the crime but did not establish a police line and did not follow the protocol of conducting an investigation.



Ringiris simply took pictures of Cardeño with his mobile phone showing the victim with a bed sheet tied around his neck.



Ringiris initially told Cardeño’s wife, Carivel, that he found the victim hanging, but when she called him up later, Ringiris told her that he found her husband on the floor.



The US troops and Skylink transported Cardeño’s body to Zamboanga City without any documentation, in violation of the VFA and without any death certificate.



An autopsy by a public physician in Zamboanga City stated that the cause of death was by asphyxiation by ligature and left a blank space on the determination of cause.



But when Cardeño’s death certificate was hand-carried by Rivera of Skylink, suicide was determined as the cause of death.



When petitioners saw Cardeño’s body on Feb. 3, the body was not yet in a state of rigor mortis, it contained puncture wounds, contusions and abrasions, while the coffin containing the body was filled with ice.



As their suspicion of a cover-up arose, petitioners approached the militant group Karapatan for assistance, but when they went to the 103rd IB, they were denied entry by Gen. Aldo and Col. Castro to where Cardeño was found dead. – Evangeline de Vera