CA voids warrants vs Nasino, 2 others

MANILA, Philippines — Prospects have turned rosy for the release of Reina Mae Nasino, the human rights activist who was apprehended in 2019 when she was pregnant, and two other detainees after the Court of Appeals (CA) nullified the search warrants that led to their arrest.

In a 36-page decision promulgated on Aug. 31, the CA granted the petition filed by Nasino, Ram Bautista and Alma Moran, voiding the search warrants issued by the Manila and Quezon City courts.

They were arrested in Tondo, Manila in 2019 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

“The search warrants are declared void for failure to meet the standards of a valid search warrant, and all evidence procured by virtue thereof are deemed inadmissible,” Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar-Gito wrote in the decision.

The CA said both the issuance and implementation of the search warrants by the court and law enforcers, respectively, were not compliant with the rules of court.

For one, the CA said authorities searched the activists’ houses and allegedly confiscated evidence, which were “not in plain view.”

Bautista, who was not present during the search, was the only subject of the warrants. But Nasino and Moran’s houses were also searched and they were handcuffed lying face down.

“Clearly, the petitioners’ right against unreasonable search and seizures was blatantly trampled upon,” the CA said, citing the different and erroneous addresses on the warrants.

The CA also found grave abuse of discretion on the part of Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali for upholding the validity of the warrants despite “apparent irregularities.”

“These irregularities are more than enough to debunk the presumption of regularity of performance of official duties,” the CA decision read.

With the search warrants declared invalid, the alleged firearms and explosives confiscated from the suspects can no longer be used in the case, the appeals court said.

Nasino’s baby, River, whom she delivered in detention, died after they were separated. She fought for her legal right to visit the infant’s wake and funeral.

The case has earned condemnation from various human rights groups.