ILOILO City – Former Bayan Muna representative Siegfred Deduro of this city has welcomed the Supreme Court decision favoring his petition for a Writ of Amparo but he remains apprehensive.
“I still fear for my life, liberty, and security amid the continuing impunity in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and illegal arrest and detention on trumped up charges in our country,” said Deduro.
Writ of Amparo is a legal remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security is threatened or violated by public officials or private individuals.
The writ provides rapid judicial relief by requiring government authorities to provide a detailed explanation regarding the disappearance or threats against an individual. It also mandates government agencies to reveal any knowledge concerning the whereabouts of a disappeared person.
In the Deduro case, the high tribunal ruled that “red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association constitute threats to a person’s right to life, liberty, or security.”
“This clearly refutes the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) assertion that their rampage of red-tagging of activists is a benign exercise of ‘truth-tagging’,” said Deduro.
The Writ of Amparo was adopted by the Supreme Court in 2007 as a response to the increasing number of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
The term “amparo” is derived from Spanish, meaning “protection”.
On June 19, 2020, according to Deduro, military officers gave a presentation during a meeting of the Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council identifying him – and several others – of being a ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
He added that his photos were also included in posters alongside those of other red-tagged Western Visayas activists, human rights lawyers, and members of non-government organizations.
Included in the posters were activists Zara Alvarez of Bacolod City and Jose Porquia of Iloilo City who were both killed in 2020.
“I hope that this landmark ruling will benefit thousands of other activists and political dissenters like me who are victims of political persecution and red-tagging,” said Deduro.
The militant alliance Bayan Panay welcomed the Supreme Court ruling, too.
“Our efforts have finally borne fruits. The favorable ruling for Nong Siegfred extends to us all, his fellow activists, and even to his counsels, who are all subjects of attacks by the previous and even the current administration. If I were to be blunt about it, this is a sign that the Court has finally caught up for the defense of those who have been attacked, some have even been killed or disappeared,” said Bayan Panay secretary general Elmer Forro.
The Court, in its decision that was made public on May 8, has declared that “red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association constitute threats to a person’s right to life, liberty or security.”
It also cited the observations of the United Nations Human Rights Council of the prevalence of the red-tagging practice “where groups at the left of the political spectrum are characterized as front organizations of anti-democratic groups.”
“We are positive that soon, our calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC and the junking of the Anti-Terror Law and the practice of filing trumped-up charges against activists will be finally realized,” said Forro.
The Court also noted various United Nations special rapporteurs’ pleas to stop the practice of red-tagging.
But while the Court’s decision is a welcoming development, Forro said they will remain watchful.
“We have shown that with our collective strength, we can effect change. But this victory is only temporary as long as attacks continue and people’s rights are still being violated,” Forro said./PN