Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 08MANILA1759, COURT CONVICTS SOLDIER FOR DISAPPEARANCES

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08MANILA1759.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08MANILA1759 2008-07-23 08:56 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Manila
VZCZCXRO3980
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #1759/01 2050856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230856Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1382
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0274
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001759 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL ELAB RP
SUBJECT: COURT CONVICTS SOLDIER FOR DISAPPEARANCES 
 
REF: MANILA 1706 (RAMPING UP INVESTIGATION AND 
     PROSECUTION OF LABOR AND OTHER 
     EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: A regional trial court July 18 convicted an 
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) corporal for abduction 
and illegal detention of six civilians who disappeared in 
October 2000, sentencing the defendant to a minimum of 54 
years in prison.  In the absence of physical evidence, 
including the victims' bodies, the new testimony of an army 
sergeant was pivotal in securing the guilty verdict.  This 
case is remarkable because convictions in disappearance cases 
are rare.  Prosecutors in these cases face a requirement to 
have evidence of kidnapping or killing, while witnesses may 
be unwilling to testify and administrative delays obstruct a 
trial's progress.  This most recent conviction shows how 
perseverance of the victims' families and testimony from a 
key witness, even several years after a trial has begun, can 
still contribute to a successful prosecution.  This is the 
first-ever court victory for the NGO involved in the case, 
which is working on 15 other unresolved disappearance cases. 
While the case exemplifies the shortcomings of the justice 
system, it also shows that the system can deliver convictions 
in some of the most difficult cases.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PROMPT ACTION BY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 
---------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The case stems from the October 2000 disappearance of 
six civilians in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, following threats 
made by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Corporal 
Rodrigo Billones of the 62nd Infantry Battalion.  Less than 
two weeks after the disappearances, the Commission on Human 
Rights (CHR) assisted the victims' families by issuing 
subpoenas for Billones.  When he failed to appear, CHR issued 
an additional subpoena to the commanding officer and sent 
copies of the complaint to the AFP Chief of Staff for 
administrative sanctioning.  Victims' families then filed 
separate complaints and, after a preliminary investigation in 
December, 2000, the case prosecutor filed charges of 
abduction and serious illegal detention with the court in 
Agusan del Sur.  In January 2001, the court issued an arrest 
warrant for Billones, who finally appeared in court in June 
that year and was held in detention from then on. 
 
STILL A LENGTHY TRIAL 
--------------------- 
 
3. (U) The trial of Billones took just under eight years to 
conclude because of the difficulty of obtaining witness 
testimony and because of pervasive inefficiencies in the 
Philippine judicial system, which allows for discontinuous 
trials.  Administrative obstacles in this case included 39 
hearing postponements, various defense tactics such as the 
filing of motions, and the periodic assignment of new judges 
to the court.  However, in a clear break for the case, a 
former AFP sergeant submitted an affidavit to the CHR that he 
saw the six victims in an army camp and that they were 
tortured and killed by AFP members, including a colonel and a 
lieutenant who had both served in the 62nd Infantry Battalion 
with Billones.  The former sergeant finally testified against 
Billones in November 2007 paving the way for last week's 
guilty verdict.  The accused was convicted and fined damages 
for being an accomplice to the disappearances, and was 
sentenced to 9 to 15 years in prison for each of the six 
complaints -- a minimum of 54 years, tantamount to a life 
sentence.  In the decision, the regional trial court judge 
also instructed the Department of Justice to conduct a 
separate inquiry on the criminal liability of the two other 
AFP officials allegedly involved in the disappearances. 
 
NGO FOR THE DISAPPEARED HAS RARE VICTORY 
---------------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) In this case, the attorney hired by the victims' 
families was a member of the NGO Families of Victims of 
Involuntary Disappearances (FIND).  He served as both legal 
counsel for the families and as a "private prosecutor," 
deputized by the public prosecutor to move the case through 
the judicial process, a format common in other kinds of 
criminal cases, such as trafficking.  Of the 16 disappearance 
cases on which FIND is working, this is the first and only 
case that the NGO has seen resolved, and without the 
testimony of the former army sergeant the case might have 
been dismissed.  Many of FIND's cases on disappearances from 
the 1990s are still in court, although the NGO told Post they 
 
MANILA 00001759  002 OF 002 
 
 
thought this case was resolved relatively quickly.  Since 
convictions in disappearance trials are rare, FIND calls this 
a "breakthrough" victory that gives them hope for other 
disappearance cases. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
5. (SBU) This case is significant because it shows that the 
Philippine government, when faced with new information, is 
willing to convict army officials in disappearance cases 
whose trails ran cold long ago.  Even more importantly, this 
case succeeded despite the odds.  It sat for six years with 
no new leads and, as a disappearance case, did not benefit 
from the involvement of the Philippine National Police's Task 
Force USIG, which investigates extrajudicial killings.  USIG 
does not investigate disappearance cases and in addition only 
investigates cases filed since the beginning of President 
Arroyo's administration in 2001.  While the end result 
illustrates that the government is serious about solving 
disappearances, some persistent obstacles in the justice 
system remain, including administrative delays, overburdened 
prosecutors, and witness reticence.  Still, the verdict in 
such a difficult and lengthy case as this shows that the 
Philippines justice system is ultimately capable of 
delivering convictions. 
 
KENNEY