On June 28, 2019, the 14th
Division of the Court of Appeals dismissed the petitions for the writ of amparo
and habeas data filed by Karapatan, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
(RMP), and Gabriela. Karapatan assailed the decision and referred to it as “a
gross disservice to the human rights defenders who continue to experience
perilous conditions in the conduct of their human rights work.”
On June 28, 2019, the 14th
Division of the Court of Appeals dismissed the petitions for the writ of amparo
and habeas data filed by Karapatan, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
(RMP), and Gabriela. Karapatan assailed the decision and referred to it as “a
gross disservice to the human rights defenders who continue to experience
perilous conditions in the conduct of their human rights work.”
Karapatan Secretary General
Cristina Palabay expressed her dismay on the CA’s decision. “The CA’s denial of
Karapatan’s writs of amparo and habeas data is among the numerous examples that
show that domestic mechanisms for redress and protection are compromised, and
are therefore rendered inutile. This was not an impartial ruling where all
sides were sufficiently heard,” she added.
Palabay further impressed the
need for independent investigations on attacks against defenders and other
human rights violations committed against Filipinos. “If the justice system can
easily be subverted to turn courts into mere complacent actors and instruments
to promote gross impunity, then the participation and intervention of other
parties such as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is both
justified and necessary,” she explained.
For his part, Karapatan Deputy
Secretary General Roneo Clamor reiterated that the decision of the Court of
Appeals 14th Division to rule on the basis of mere technicalities is a
disappointing move “that stripped and silenced the voices and testimonies of
the victims.”
“The Duterte government has built
a supermajority in Congress and has significantly eroded the independence of
the judiciary. A compromised judiciary will frustrate all efforts to avail
domestic mechanisms for the protection of rights defenders, as well as the
attainment of justice for human rights violations. We have seen and read how
they handled our petition, and the CA’s 14th Division was acting more like the
respondents’ counsel rather than as independent adjudicators,” added
Clamor.
Karapatan, along with Gabriela
and RMP are in communication with their legal counsel to appeal the CA’s
decision.
“We will certainly appeal the
CA’s decision. We assert that there are existing threats againts human rights
defenders, and that the spate of red-tagging have been the pretext for the
killings and illegal arrests of many of our colleagues. We have raised these
complaints with local courts, police officials and agencies such as the
Commission on Human Rights, as well as other international mechanisms. Even as
the CA refuses to fully hear and consider these cases, we will nonetheless
exhaust all available platforms to seek protection, justice, and
accountability,” concluded Palabay.