Kin of missing activists welcome SC rules on writ of amparo
The families of two abducted Iloilo activists have welcomed the Supreme Court's issuance of rules for the writ of amparo.
Luis Posa, elder brother of missing activist Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado, said the issuance of the rules is "a big help for the families of victims who are desperately looking for their loved ones."
Posa said they will consult with their lawyers for the possible filing of a petition for a writ of amparo when the rules take effect on October 24. The families have a pending petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus before the Regional Trial Court Branch 34.
Dominado and fellow activist Nilo Arado were abducted by unidentified armed men on April 12 at Barangay Cabanbanan in Oton town in Iloilo. Their companion, human rights worker Jose Ely Garachico, was shot and seriously wounded but left behind.
Dominado was the spokesperson of the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (Selda) in Panay while Arado was chair of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay.
The families have accused military agents of being responsible for the abduction but this has been repeatedly denied by military officials.
Posa said they are hopeful that the new rules would help them locate the victims because the writ of amparo is broader than the writ of habeas corpus.
While the writ of habeas corpus can only compel authorities to produce the missing or arrested persons in court, the writ of amparo will also compel to take action to solve such killings and disappearances, and hold them accountable.
Posa noted that in hearings of their pending petition, military officials had only to deny involvement in the abduction but could not be held responsible for the continued disappearance of the victims.
He said the court has also failed to compel two military officials to testify in court.
Col. Mariano Perez, the former head of the Military Intelligence Group in Western Visayas, has failed to testify because he was reassigned to another post outside the region days after the abduction.
Another subpoena for Capt. Lowen Gil Marquez, chief of 32nd Civil Relation Unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, was also ignored when it was served by court representatives.