MANILA – Quezon City Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villaver should not be promoted. 

This is the assertion of Kapatid, a support group for political prisoners as the Judicial and Bar Council announced the applicants for the position of associate judges at the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan for which Villavert is applying.

The group submitted their letter to the JBC on April 14  where they stressed that Villavert’s actions “do not meet the moral and legal standards expected of those entrusted with administering justice. 

Various human rights groups and defenders called Villavert a “warrant factory judge” for signing search warrants which led to the arrests and detention of numerous activists such as the case of Reina Mae Nasino, whose newborn daughter, Baby River, died after she was separated from her mother. Her case, along with her two other colleagues’ cases, was later dismissed by the court as the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 

No promotion

In their letter to the JBC, Kapatid cited that the warrants signed by Villavert were primarily sought by the Philippine National Police (PNP). These warrants led to violent raids, planting of fabricated evidence, and wrongful arrest and detention of numerous activists on baseless charges. 

“This disturbing pattern of judicial conduct undermines the very foundation of justice which the JBC cannot ignore,” they said. 

They cited various incidents like what happened on October 31, 2019 when Villavert received then NCRPO Acting Director Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas in her chambers for a “dialogue” while PNP search warrant applications were pending before her court. Hours later, police and military forces raided the Bayan compound in Bacolod City, arresting 57 activists.

On the same day, police armed with Villavert’s search warrants raided the home of activists Cora Agovida and Michael Bartolome in Manila. The warrant relied on a fabricated narrative about an alleged “gun running syndicate.” This tactic was replicated on November 5, 2019 against activists Ram Carlo Bautista, Reina Mae Nasino, and Alma Moran who were also arrested in a similar manner at the Bayan-Manila office in Tondo, Manila.

Kapatid also mentioned that on December 10, 2020 (International Human Rights Day), similar warrants led to the simultaneous arrests of journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade unionists Rodrigo Esparago, Dennise Velasco, Joel Demate, Mark Ryan Cruz, Jaymie Gregorio, and Romina Astudillo in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, and Manila.

Kapatid said that there were at least 76 activists who were “unjustly arrested under these flawed warrants of Judge Burgos-Villavert.” This include Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim’s husband Vicente Ladlad, and his companions Alberto and Virginia Villamor have been detained since November 8, 2018 in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City.

For Kapatid, Villavert “failed to exercise judicial discretion with the diligence and care demanded by the Rules of Court and the Constitution.”

Lim said, “Her repeated failure to ask ‘probing and exhaustive’ questions led to the issuance of defective warrants that gravely violated the rights and liberties of numerous individuals.”

This track record, they said, shows not just lapses in judgment but also a consistent disregard for due process and judicial integrity, standards that are indispensable for anyone being considered for elevation to higher courts such as the Court of Appeals or Sandiganbayan.

Confidence in the judiciary

Kapatid said that the promotion of Villavert would “further erode public confidence in the judiciary,” given that the justice system is already under scrutiny from international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the alleged killings committed under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.

“The ICC’s intervention reflects the deeper crisis within the Philippine justice system. That it has taken an international tribunal to pursue accountability for grave crimes is a damning indictment of our own institutions’ failure to deliver justice and to uphold the rights of thousands of victims of extrajudicial killings,” Kapatid said in a statement. “Allowing her to rise within the judiciary would perpetuate impunity, undermine human rights, and send a dangerous message that the courts are complicit in injustice.”

They urged the  JBC to “prioritize the restoration of public trust in the judiciary by ensuring that only those who truly uphold the values of justice, integrity, and impartiality are appointed to serve in higher courts.”They appealed that, “The judiciary must be a sanctuary for rights and not an enabler of impunity.” (DAA)