By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – More than a year since the disappearance of Dexter Capuyan and Roz Jamil “Bazoo” De Jesus, the Supreme Court (SC) compelled the police and military to provide information on the missing activists.
In a resolution dated September 9, the high court granted the appeal of the families for writs of amparo and habeas data.
A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security has been violated or is threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity; while the writ of habeas data seeks to release and destroy personal information being held that threatens one’s life and security and violates the right to privacy.
The SC ordered the high-ranking government officials to provide detailed information under oath about their actions, the data they gathered, and any relevant information concerning the disappearance of Capuyan and De Jesus: Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) PGen. Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr.; Director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) PMGen Romeo M. Camarat, Jr.; Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner; Group Commander of the 1st Civil Relations Group Maj. Al Anthony B. Pueblas; as well as former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz from Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI News Channel).
“Respondents are required to make a verified return of the Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data before the Court of Appeals in Manila, within 20 days after its service, together with the Resolution, and to comment on Petitions within the same period,” the resolution read.
The resolution also granted the families of Capuyan and De Jesus with Temporary Protection Order (TPO) against the respondents. This measure, according to law office La Viña Zarate and Associates, is critical to prevent further harm and intimidation.
Representing the families, La Viña Zarate and Associates said that the writs and TPO mark a crucial step to “uncover the truth, secure justice, and ultimately surface Capuyan and De Jesus.” They also said that the case will be raffled in the Court of Appeals (CA), with families waiting their chance to testify in the court.
“The Court resolves to issue the corresponding Writs of Amparo and Habeas Data returnable to the Presiding Justice of the CA who shall cause the immediate raffle of these consolidated cases among its incumbent Justices,” the resolution said.
Capuyan and De Jesus were abducted in the evening of April 28, 2023 in Taytay, Rizal, by individuals claiming to be members of Philippine National Police (PNP) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
Although the CA denied the petition for the writ of habeas corpus, the SC decision reignited hope for the families, legal counsel, and human rights groups. They have been mounting protests and activities to assert the immediate surfacing of the missing activists and the need for legal remedies.
On August 13, when the legal counsel and the families filed these petitions, they believed that De Jesus and Capuyan are still alive. “We believe that they are being held in custody somewhere,” Atty. Tony La Viña said during the press conference.
Cautious optimism
Meanwhile, the Environmental Defenders Congress (EDC), a national alliance of environmental defenders and defender groups in the country, expressed cautious optimism on the recent SC resolution. “While this is a crucial step towards justice, both activists remain missing — and this underscores the ongoing threats faced by environmental and Indigenous rights defenders.”
EDC said that Capuyan and De Jesus are environmental defenders victimized by red-tagging, state violence, and the climate of impunity in the country.
They called for the criminalization of red-tagging, immediate investigation on the state agents’ involvement in enforced disappearances, and abolition of the NTF-ELCAC.
EDC demanded the immediate passage of the Environmental Defenders Bill in Congress. The bill aims to recognize and protect the rights of the environmental defenders who face increasing threats, harassment, and violence while defending the country’s natural resources and communities against destructive projects.
UN report
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan said in an official communication with the Philippine government, that the inquiry of the families to the relevant government agencies did not reveal any information about the whereabouts of Capuyan and De Jesus.
Among the government facilities she mentioned are Rizal Police Provincial Office, Taytay Municipal Police Station, Rizal Provincial Jail, Camp General Mateo Capinpin, Laguna Police Provincial Office, Calamba City Police Station, PNP’s Camp General Vicente Lim, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Region IV-A, PNP’s Camp Crame, Armed Forces’ Camp Aguinaldo, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Armed Forces’ Camp Allen; and Police Regional Office in Camp Dangwa.
With the seemingly lack of detailed information about the two activists, Khan asked the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide information about the fate and whereabouts of the two missing activists and “the measures that have been taken to determine them as well as to investigate their alleged enforced disappearance promptly and effectively, guaranteeing full accountability for any perpetrators.”In all cases of enforced disappearances, Khan urged them to provide information on the policies, procedures and measures adopted to prevent and investigate enforced disappearances carried out by members of State security forces or any other agent acting on their behalf or with their acquiescence. (JJE, RTS, DAA)
