ILOILO City –Former Bayan Muna party-list congressman Siegfred Deduro filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court, appealing the order of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 24 here that rejected his bid to secure a writ of amparo.
According to Deduro, vice president for Visayas of Bayan Muna and Makabayan Coalition, the RTC threw out his petition without a hearing and without requiring the respondent, Major General Eric Vinoya, commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), to answer the allegations in his petition.
The RTC ruled as baseless and untenable Deduro’s claim that he was under threat after being publicly accused of being the third ranking official of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Panay Island in the military’s presentation of so-called “terrorist threats” during the June 19, 2020 meeting of the Iloilo Peace and Order Council at Casa Real de Iloilo (old capitol building) of the Iloilo provincial government.
“I believe that my petition for a writ of amparo and the evidence submitted with it were sufficient for the issuance of the writ. The court could have also called for a summary hearing, which is allowed under the rules on amparo proceedings,” according to Deduro.
He asked the Supreme Court to set aside the RTC’s order of dismissal and issue a writ of amparo in his favor.
“Moreover, I believe that the threats to activists and members of progressive organizations cannot be ignored, considering the murder of activists in the wake of red-tagging being carried out by the military and other government officials. Being red-tagged is like a having a sword of Damocles over my head because red-tagging kills,” said Deduro.
Even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights cited, in its report released in June 2020, the pervasive red-tagging in the country and its detrimental effect to civil society, he pointed out.
“The recent killings of my colleagues, Bayan Muna – Iloilo City coordinator Jory Porquia and Negros Karapatan leader Zara Alvarez, showed that the threats are very real and not baseless,” said Deduro./PN
