SC Issues Writ of Amparo in Favor of Elizabeth “Loi” Magbanua and Alipio “Ador”…
August 23, 2022
The Supreme Court in today’s En Banc session issued a writ of amparo in favor of missing activists Elizabeth “Loi” Magbanua and Alipio “Ador” Juat.
The Court referred the Petition in G.R. No. 262026 to the Court of Appeals to summarily hear the petition on August 30, 2022 and to decide the case within 10 days after its submission for decision.
The Court also ordered respondents Lieutenant General Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, in his capacity as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; [Ret.] General Jose Faustino Jr., in his capacity as Officer-in-Charge of the Department of National Defense; [Ret.] General Ricardo F. de Leon, in his capacity as Director General of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency; Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner, Jr., in his capacity as Commanding General of the Philippine Army; Major General Roy M. Galido, in his capacity as Acting Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army; Major General Romulo Manuel, in his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and Brigadier General Nolasco A. Mempin, in his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations, to make a verified return of the writ of amparo and file a comment to the Petition before the Court of Appeals within 72 hours after its service.
The Petition was filed by Loi’s life partner Ruth H. Manglalan and Loi’s niece Alyssa Marie C. Magbanua, together with Ador’s daughter Maureen T. Juat. The petitioners, on behalf of Loi and Ador, sought for the issuance of the writ of amparo for their protection, claiming that their rights to life, liberty and security have been violated on account of their disappearance.
As prayed for by the petitioners, the Court likewise granted a Temporary Protection Order and prohibited the respondents from going within a radius of one (1) kilometer of the petitioners and their immediate family.
The Rule on the Writ of Amparo was adopted by the Court on October 24, 2007, a result of the two-day National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances held on July 16-17, 2007. The Rule is intended to address the pernicious problems of “extralegal killings” and “enforced disappearances” and serves both preventive and curative roles in addressing these issues.
(G.R. No. 262026, In Re Writ of Amparo, Manglalan et al. v. Lt. Bacarro, 23 August 2022)