The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the petition for writs of amparo and habeas data filed by former Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao.

Ampatuan is the principal suspect in the November 23 massacre of 57 people, among them some 30 journalists, in Maguindanao province.

The carnage has been described as the most gruesome incidence of political violence and the biggest single atrocity against journalists in recent history.

Ampatuan, who is detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila while facing trial for 57 counts of murder, had earlier petitioned the CA for the issuance of writs of amparo and habeas data to stop his arrest and detention.

In a 17-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda and concurred in by Associate Justices Noel Tijam and Apolinario Bruselas Jr., the CA’s Twelfth Division ruled that Ampatuan’s petition was deficient in form and in substance.

“Our closer examination of the records led us to conclude that the instant petition failed to comply with the minimum requirements of the rules on the issuance of the writs of amparo and habeas data. Hence the writs prayed for cannot issue,” the appellate court said.

Likewise, the CA held that Ampatuan failed to establish that his arrest and detention have resulted in a violation of or a threat to his right to life, liberty and safety.