The decision of the Court of Appeals’ former Special 8th Division disregarded the basic rights of environmental rights defenders Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, as well as the continuing threats to life, liberty and security, in dismissing their plea for legal protection via their petition for the privilege of the writ of amparo and habeas data.
We are appalled and we are indignant for Jonila and Jhed, and all victims of enforced disappearance and fake or forced surrenders.
This decision is yet another proof that the climate of impunity persists under the Marcos Jr. administration, with the insufficiency, inadequacy or failure of domestic redress mechanisms to render justice for victims of enforced disappearance and other human rights violations.
While acknowledging that the two young women were victims of abduction and illegal detention, the CA division, in their decision, failed to recognize the accountability of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) – institutions who publicly acknowledged that they had custody of the two.
It failed to recognize the State’s violation of the basic constitutional rights of Jonila and Jhed to due process, to independent counsel of choice, to security and liberty, of freedom from fear, against torture and illegal detention, in the 17 days of their enforced disappearance. Even in the dissenting opinion of Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar – Gito, the facts and circumstances all together presented have led her to believe that the “agents of the State are behind the abduction.” The fact that the two took great risk in speaking out during an NTF-ELCAC press conference, even under threat of being kept in the military’s custody, is publicly known.
The CA division likewise failed to recognize the risks and vulnerabilities of human rights defenders like Jhed and Jonila, who are victims of redtagging before they were abducted. Tila naninirahan sa ilalim ng bato ang mga hurado. Napakarami nang pinatay, sapilitang iwinala, iligal na inarestong aktibista at sibilyan, kaya nga nagkaroon ng court rules sa writ of amparo at habeas data. Ngunit, tila wala ito sa konteksto sa naging desisyon ng CA division.
The CA division also seemingly gave the State perpetrators a free pass – by failing to conduct extraordinary due diligence via an investigation on the abduction and enforced disappearance of Jhed and Jonila – as we see in what many courts have done in the past. This is the kind of court decisions that perpetuate the seemingly never-ending cycle of impunity in the country.
We unequivocally stand with Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano in their pursuit of justice and accountability, and we express our support for them in their further court actions. We demand that the NTF-ELCAC and the AFP be investigated and prosecuted for their crimes, as we reiterate our call for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC.