G.R. No. 224946 - Acharon vs. People

On April 28, 2007 at around 1:00 PM, Jonas Joseph T. Burgos—a farmer advocate and member of Kilusang Magbubukid sa Bulacan—was forcibly taken by four men and one woman from the extension portion of Hapag Kainan Restaurant, Ever Gotesco Mall, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.
An on-site security guard saw the group drag Jonas into the rear of a plain maroon Toyota Revo bearing plate TAB 194 after being told “Pare, pulis!”; the plate was noted and later reported to mall security and the police.

LTO records showed TAB 194 belonged to a 1991 Isuzu XLT owned by Mauro B. Mudlong, impounded since June 24, 2006 by DENR officers and 56th Infantry Battalion (IB) personnel (then under Lt. Col. Noel Clement) for timber-related violations.
The 56th IB was in retraining at Camp Tecson, Bulacan from November 2006 to March 2007 under a “left-behind force” and no formal turnover of vehicle inventories occurred; after publicizing Jonas’s disappearance in May 2007, the impounded vehicle was found missing its plate and parts.

Petitioner Edita T. Burgos filed consolidated CA petitions for habeas corpus, contempt, and the writ of amparo. The Court of Appeals (CA) dismissed the habeas corpus and contempt petitions, and partially granted amparo relief, directing AFP and PNP to furnish records and deepen investigations.
Key evidence and leads:

Cartographic sketches of two abductors were prepared; State Prosecutor Velasco identified five military-intelligence personnel (T/Sgt. Jason Roxas, Cpl. Maria Joana Francisco, M/Sgt. Aron Arroyo, 1st Lt. Jaime Mendaros, an alias T.L.) but was later removed from the probe.
PNP-CIDG, led by P/Supt. Jonnel Estomo, conducted a cursory inquiry—failed to identify sketch subjects, question key 56th IB officers (Clement, Feliciano, Caga), or refer charges to DOJ.
Three rebel-returnees (Lipio/@Ka Tibo, Manuel/@Ka Carlo, Reyes/@Ka Lisa) implicated two CPP/NPA guerillas (@Ka Dante, @Ka Enso) and asserted Jonas’s alias (@Ka Ramon) and role in NPA intelligence.

The CA found no firm link between the abductors and military service, but held the AFP must explain the loss of the impounded plate TAB 194 and investigate the “Order of Battle” allegation tying Jonas to @Ka Ramon.
The CA deemed the PNP-CIDG investigation “shallow” and “haphazard,” urging extraordinary diligence under the amparo rule; it dismissed contempt and habeas corpus against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo due to presidential immunity.

Whether the AFP and PNP-CIDG conducted investigations with the “extraordinary diligence” required by the Rule on the Writ of Amparo in cases of enforced disappearance.
Whether the CA correctly dismissed the petitions for habeas corpus and contempt against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on grounds of immunity.
Whether the evidence and leads (license-plate linkage, prosecutorial identifications, rebel-returnee statements) suffice to warrant further inquiry or establish state responsibility.