The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has summoned Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Jesus Verzosa to shed light on the claim that the raid on a resthouse in Morong, Rizal last Feb. 6 that led to the arrest of the Morong 43 was a military operation.

CHR Chairwoman Leila M. de Lima said the announcement by the PNP that it did not initiate the operation was central to the determination of whether it was conducted legally or not, and whether the raiders fabricated charges and manufactured evidence to nail the supposed members of the New People's Army (NPA.)

The hearing will be conducted starting at 9 a.m. Thursday at the CHR office at the campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Verzosa and other top PNP officers said the operation was planned and executed by the 2nd Infantry Division under Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia and that the police played second fiddle to military intelligence.

Relatives and friends of the Morong 43 have insisted this could be the reason why the PNP does not want to take custody of the detained health workers.

Since the military planned and executed the operation, the PNP does not feel responsible for their detention.

On the other hand, the Philippine Army (PA) maintains that the military was there only to provide assistance to the PNP, a fact that has been denied repeatedly by Camp Crame.

While the CHR has asked the PNP to take custody of the Morong 43, the PA has sought to bar the commission from hearing the allegations of torture and illegal arrest slapped against the elements of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The military did not bring the Morong 43 to the last CHR hearing on their allegations and even filed a petition before the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the commission from continuing with its hearings.

PNP refused to take custody of the Morong 43 when the army brought them to Camp Crame, saying its detention facilities were teeming with people facing criminal cases.

CHR has argued that the PNP should take custody of the Morong 43 since they have been charged criminally even if the manner of investigation and denial of counsel could possibly impeach the validity of the criminal proceedings.

Human rights groups led by Karapatan have already called for a nationwide hunger strike to support the cause of the Morong 43, with foreign medical and health groups condemning their continuing incarceration on trumped-up charges.