MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - The chairwoman of the Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday said she will no longer be handling a CHR probe on the disappearance of missing activist Jonas Burgos after she accepted an offer by President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to join his Cabinet.

Instead, CHR chairwoman Leila de Lima said she will ask the commission en banc to form a strong team to investigate the case within the 90-day period set by the Supreme Court.

"I am not sure if I can stay for 90 days more. I accepted a position in the incoming administration and I am expected to immediately take on the role because there are very important matters to tackle in that department. But one thing I can commit before I leave. I will ask the en banc to put together a good team to be headed by a commissioner who has extensive experience in investigative work," she said.

She added: "I will make sure that the proper groundwork is laid down so that we will be up to the challenge asked of us by the Supreme Court."

De Lima on Tuesday revealed that she is resigning from the CHR after accepting an offer by President-elect Aquino to join his Cabinet. Earlier reports said de Lima had been offered the position of justice secretary.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, ordered the CHR to conduct an exhaustive investigation of Burgos's abduction after noting significant lapses made by the Philippine National Police in its investigation.

The court said the CHR must track down and identify two of five of Burgos's abductors who were identified in police sketches, as well as several other personnel linked to the abduction by a senior state prosecutor. The Court, likewise, required the incumbent chiefs of the Armed Forces and Philippine National Police to make available and to provide copies to the CHR all documents and records in their possession in connection with Jonas’ case.

It also directed the PNP-CIDG to submit to the CHR the records and results of its investigation it claimed to have forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which were not included in their previous submissions to the CHR.

The family of Jonas Burgos on Tuesday urged de Lima to finish an investigation on the Burgos case before she joins the Aquino Cabinet.

In an interview on ANC, Ricardo Fernandez, lawyer of the Burgos family, said the SC decision is a setback since it failed to cite in contempt police investigators tasked to investigate the case.

"Our reaction is we're right back to where we started at the Commission on Human Rights. It's taken 3 years and the Supreme Court tells us we should go back," he said.

He added: "We were hoping that the SC will find the PNP investigators to have failed in their investigation to find out where Jonas is although they know it and they are just covering it up."

He said his clients were hoping that de Lima would finish the CHR investigation of the Burgos case in the next couple of weeks. He said the CHR investigation would need to handled by someone with great courage since it would involve investigating members of the police and military.

Burgos was abducted by five people on April 28, 2007 at a Quezon City mall.

Burgos's mother, Edita, blamed members of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion for the abduction after discovering that the license plate of the van used in the abduction was actually the license plate of an Isuzu XLT van  that was impounded at the 56th IB headquarters in Bulacan.

Lack of cooperation

De Lima, meanwhile, said she did not handle the initial investigation of the Burgos case since she only joined the CHR probe in May 2008.

The CHR chief said police investigators did not submit initial findings on the case to the CHR when the commission conducted a public inquiry in early 2008.

She said the Burgos case was already considered closed or archived after being  hampered by lack of cooperation by the military and, at one point, the Burgos family as well.  She said she ordered the investigation reopened in 2008.

De Lima welcomed the SC decision ordering the police to cooperate with the CHR investigation of the case.

In her petition for certiorari, Edita Burgos asked the SC to hold the respondents accountable under the doctrine of command responsibility having presumed to have known that the enforced disappearance was caused by their subordinates and yet failed to take corrective action.

Mrs. Burgos said her evidence consists of the admitted fact that plate no. TAB 194 identified by witness Larry Marquez, security guard of Ever Gotesco on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, used in the abduction of her son was officially in the custody of the 56th infantry Battalion.

Mrs. Burgos insisted that his son’s abduction was related to the arrest of Lt. Dick Abletes of the 56th IB on March 23, 2007 who was caught passing information to alleged guerillas in Bulacan.

The petitioner said that the military had the resources, intelligence information and the resolve to mount the abduction.

Mrs. Burgos has named President Arroyo, then AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon;  former army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino; Maj. Gen. Juanito Gomez, commander of the army’s 7th Infantry Division that has jurisdiction over the 56th IB;  Lt. Cols. Noel Clement and Melquiades Feliciano, former 56th IB commanders; and then Police Dir. Gen. Oscar Calderon as the respondents.

Bayan backs de Lima's transfer to DOJ

A militant group, meanwhile, backed the transfer of CHR chief de Lima to the DOJ.

In a press release, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan welcomed the impending appointment of de Lima, saying she would be a formidable foe against human rights violations.

“De Lima’s appointment can be an opportunity to review the cases of many political prisoners who faced persecution during the Arroyo regime’s all-out war against activists,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, Jr. said.

“Chair de Lima has made important contributions in advancing human rights in the Philippines, more than the combined achievements of all three previous justice secretaries,” Reyes added.

Former Justice secretaries Raul Gonzalez and Agnes Devanadera and the incumbent, Alberto Agra, have “in fact caused setbacks for the cause of human rights during their stints,” he added.

As CHR chief, de Lima led in the investigation of cases relevant to the militants. These include, among others, the abduction and torture of Filipino-American Melissa Roxas, the arrest and torture of the 43 health workers in Morong, Rizal, and the most high-profile Maguindanao massacre.

“We hope that it’s not just corruption that de Lima will take on, but also the many cases of human rights abuses that continue to cry out for justice. She faces a big challenge with her new job, but her track record in the CHR has gained her many supporters,” Reyes added.