SC orders CA to hear case of cause-oriented groups
Published May 30, 2019 02:52 pm
By Rey Panaligan
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Court of Appeals (CA) to hear the petition against the police and the military for their alleged harassment of cause-oriented groups in pursuing their work and advocacies.
Supreme Court of the Philippines (MANILA BULLETIN)
In a resolution released on Thursday (May 30), the SC issued Writs of Amparo and Habeas Data on the petitions filed by Karapatan Alliance Philippines, Inc., Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Inc., and General Assembly of Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action (GABRIELA), Inc.
The resolution referred the petition to the CA which was ordered to hear it on June 18 after the respondents in the case have submitted their comment on or before June 13.
The CA was also ordered to resolve the petition within 10 days “after it (CA) deems the case submitted for decision.”
Named respondents are President Rodrigo Duterte, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., Brig. Gen. Fernando Trinidad, Maj. Gen. Erwin Neri, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Lt. Gen. Macairog Sabiniano Alberto, National Intelligence Coordinating Council (NICA) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo, NICA Deputy Director General Vicente Agdamag, Police Sr. Supt. Omega Jireh Fidel, and Undersecretaries Joel Egco, Severo Catura, and Lorraine Marie Badoy.
A Writ of Amparo is a “special constitutional writ to protect or enforce a constitutional right other than physical liberty.”
A writ of habeas data, on the other hand, “is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of data or information ....”
The petitioners pleaded the SC for the issuance of a temporary protection order (TPO) against the military and the police, and the disclosure and destruction of all files or records gathered against them.
Theirs was the second petition of the same nature filed with the SC.
The first petition was filed by the members of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) which had been acted upon by the SC through the same directives to the CA.
Karapatan and the other groups told the SC they are “legitimate organizations, recognized both here and abroad, including their officers
and members, but have become open targets of human rights violations.”
They said “the glaringly numerous incidents of threats, harassment, and killings are aimed at curtailing our rights to freely exercise our advocacies.”
“Ludicrous criminal charges filed against petitioners’ members have locked some of them up in jail and have even thrown one of its foreign missionaries out of the country. Worse, one of its members became a victim of extrajudicial killing,” they said.
They also said:
“Human rights advocacy is not a crime, yet human rights workers are being killed, threatened, harassed, and jailed on trumped-up charges. We have never taken all these attacks sitting down, as we continue to work to confront this perilous political climate with all available remedies.”
In its petition, NUPL alleged that some of its members had been killed, harassed, placed under surveillance, criminally charged since the military tagged them as having links with the communist movements – Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA).
It claimed that while the killings, harassments and surveillance of its members have been happening since 2001.
It pointed out that from 2001 to 2015, the group recorded more than 43 lawyers killed and 57 attacked.
The killings and threats against NUPL members violate the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers which mandates governments to guarantee the functioning of members of the legal profession, it said.
Supreme Court of the Philippines (MANILA BULLETIN)
In a resolution released on Thursday (May 30), the SC issued Writs of Amparo and Habeas Data on the petitions filed by Karapatan Alliance Philippines, Inc., Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Inc., and General Assembly of Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action (GABRIELA), Inc.
The resolution referred the petition to the CA which was ordered to hear it on June 18 after the respondents in the case have submitted their comment on or before June 13.
The CA was also ordered to resolve the petition within 10 days “after it (CA) deems the case submitted for decision.”
Named respondents are President Rodrigo Duterte, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., Brig. Gen. Fernando Trinidad, Maj. Gen. Erwin Neri, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Lt. Gen. Macairog Sabiniano Alberto, National Intelligence Coordinating Council (NICA) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo, NICA Deputy Director General Vicente Agdamag, Police Sr. Supt. Omega Jireh Fidel, and Undersecretaries Joel Egco, Severo Catura, and Lorraine Marie Badoy.
A Writ of Amparo is a “special constitutional writ to protect or enforce a constitutional right other than physical liberty.”
A writ of habeas data, on the other hand, “is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of data or information ....”
The petitioners pleaded the SC for the issuance of a temporary protection order (TPO) against the military and the police, and the disclosure and destruction of all files or records gathered against them.
Theirs was the second petition of the same nature filed with the SC.
The first petition was filed by the members of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) which had been acted upon by the SC through the same directives to the CA.
Karapatan and the other groups told the SC they are “legitimate organizations, recognized both here and abroad, including their officers
and members, but have become open targets of human rights violations.”
They said “the glaringly numerous incidents of threats, harassment, and killings are aimed at curtailing our rights to freely exercise our advocacies.”
“Ludicrous criminal charges filed against petitioners’ members have locked some of them up in jail and have even thrown one of its foreign missionaries out of the country. Worse, one of its members became a victim of extrajudicial killing,” they said.
They also said:
“Human rights advocacy is not a crime, yet human rights workers are being killed, threatened, harassed, and jailed on trumped-up charges. We have never taken all these attacks sitting down, as we continue to work to confront this perilous political climate with all available remedies.”
In its petition, NUPL alleged that some of its members had been killed, harassed, placed under surveillance, criminally charged since the military tagged them as having links with the communist movements – Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA).
It claimed that while the killings, harassments and surveillance of its members have been happening since 2001.
It pointed out that from 2001 to 2015, the group recorded more than 43 lawyers killed and 57 attacked.
The killings and threats against NUPL members violate the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers which mandates governments to guarantee the functioning of members of the legal profession, it said.