General Aurelio Baladad, commander of the army’s Eastern Mindanao Command, is now a lieutenant general following the Commission on Appoinments’ confirmation of his promotion. But a lawyers group is “disturbed” with the chief’s latest promotion.
In a statement released on Friday, the National Union of People’s Lawyer (NUPL) said Gen. Baladad “figured prominently in the illegal arrest, detention and torture of the Morong 43 health workers in 2010.
“Both the Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive, who recommended the promotion, and the Commission of Appointments, which confirmed the appointment, simply ignored this well-known fact. It is also distressing that Gen. Baladad was able to obtain a clearance from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) despite an outstanding complaint before it and the pendency of human rights related cases against him,” said Atty. Edre Olalia, secretary general of NUPL.
Olalia said Baladad’s promotion is “reflective” of the government’s insincerity to curb the climate of impunity.
Gen. Baladad was promoted twice since 2010. He was a colonel when he supervised the arrest of the Morong 43.
