BY VICTOR REYES

THE mother of Jonas Burgos yesterday said the family will seek a reconsideration of a Court of Appeals ruling dismissing a habeas corpus petition for her son.

Edita Burgos, asked how optimistic she is of a reversal, said: "Before, I said we had faith in the judicial system. After that decision, I really cannot say anymore. There is a tiny flicker of hope it will be reversed."

"I am extremely disappointed. What evidence are they looking for? The plate number was traced to the Army, it is a direct link," she added.

Nevertheless, she said, she is respecting the court's decision.

Asked if she believes Jonas is still alive, she said: "This decision bolstered our belief that he is still alive. If he were dead or murdered, they (abductors) should have produced the body. They should have come up with scenario to find the body to silence me."

The Burgos family is blaming the military for the April 2007 abduction based on a license plate seen on one of the getaway vehicles of Jonas' kidnappers. The plates were originally attached to a vehicle impounded at the 56th IB camp in Norzagaray, Bulacan in June 2006.

The CA, in junking the habeas corpus petition, said the Burgos family failed to sufficiently prove that the military was behind the abduction.

Lt. Col. Noel Clement, former commander of the Army's 56th Infantry Battalion, said the CA ruling was a vindication.

Clement was no longer 56th IB commander when the kidnapping took place. He was transferred to the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio as commander of the Security and Escorts Battalion in January last year.

Clement, his successor Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano, and several enlisted personnel of the 56th IB have been linked to the kidnapping.