The two CDs are documentaries. "Ang Mabuhay para sa Masa" is a biopic of former President Estrada while "At All Costs" is about the rigging by Gloria Arroyo of the 2004 elections.

Afraid of the truth, the Arroyo administration had banned the public showing of "Ang Mabuhay para sa Masa." The documentary has not been declared illegal and therefore can be viewed privately.

For sharing the CDs with other soldiers, Raymundo was ordered detained by Maj. Danilo Luna. Later he was charged with Disrespect Towards Superior Officer (Art. 64), Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman (Art. 96) and Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline (Art. 97).

One year and six months have since passed, and the poor guy is still languishing at the Marine Brig in Fort Bonifacio and no trial had been conducted.

The plight of Raymundo came to the attention of human rights advocate, Atty. Harry Roque. Last March 5, Roque and his associate, Romel Bagares, wrote Raymundo’s superiors including Vice Adm. Rogelio I. Calunsag, Flag Officer-in-Command, Philippine Navy, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Commandant, Philippine Marine Corps, asking for the immediate release of Raymundo saying, "Our client’s continued unjustified detention without the benefit of trial, and where the offenses charged are already covered by the statute of limitations… constitutes a criminal offense punishable both under military law and the Revised Penal Code. "

Roque reminded the senior officers that "under Art 32 of the Civil Code, our client may seek redress by way of civil damages against you for having violated his constitutional right to personal liberty."

Two days later, Raymundo received a notice of summons to appear in a pre-trial on March 14. After 15 months in detention, he was finally going to be investigated.

Through counsels Romel Bagares and Christopher Bolastig, Raymundo said in his counter affidavit:

"I was confined under the orders of someone who only holds the rank of major. Under the Manual for Courts-Martial of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a commanding officer who holds the rank of major and below can only impose as punishment on an officer a maximum of 15 days of arrest in quarters, or deprivation of liberty for 30 days. He is not authorized to impose hard labor without confinement, nor does he have the authority to impose correctional custody.

"Under Article 105 of the Articles of War with respect to minor offenses, the commanding officer, may, for minor offenses, impose disciplinary punishments upon persons of his command without the intervention of a court martial, but such cannot include confinement under guard.

"If the acts charged are not minor offenses, then any punishment meted out to me may be imposed only by a judgment through a Court Martial. Despite my demands for the convening and trial by court martial, such never materialized.

"Charges brought by Maj. Luna against me under AW 97 and AW 64 both have a maximum punishment of 6 months of confinement at hard labor, and yet I have been confined for more than one year already. Moreover, in his case, since I am an officer above the rank of private, I cannot be sentenced to hard labor under AW 105.

The fact that violations of AW 96 are punishable by dismissal from the service is definitely not legal justification for my detention for some 15 months now without the benefit of a speedy trial guaranteed both by military law and the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

"The acts for which I committed which gave rise to the entire affair which is my distribution of CDs do not strictly constitute an offense under any law or statute but merely my constitutional right to communication and free speech.

"It is alleged that the CDs have been banned by the MTRCB from being shown on television. If that is the case, there is then no basis for charging me under AW 96, nor for my arrest and continued detention. I am simply being accused of distributing CDs to other persons; there is no showing that I had caused, or had tried to cause, the airing of the CDs on television.

"Even under criminal law, an accused has the right to liberty upon the posting of bail under any offense. I, on the other hand, have not been accused of any crime but merely stand accused of misconduct, the most serious and maximum penalty of which is only dismissal, not imprisonment, and yet my lengthy confinement is already tantamount to punishment given to convicted criminals.

"In fact, even if I were to be convicted under any of the charges against me under the Articles of War, none of the penalties or punishments taken together will equal the punishment I have already served and suffered, which is my year and a half (and counting) detention at the Brig."

A grave injustice has been committed on Lt. Raymundo. The military can start rectifying it by releasing him now.