CA junks Bataan environmentalists’ protection plea

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied a petition for protective writs filed by environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, who claimed they were seized by military men in Bataan last year.

In a 55-page ruling promulgated on Aug. 2, the CA’s former special Eighth Division did not grant writs of amparo and habeas data to Castro and Tamano, saying the two failed to prove the existence of a continuing or imminent threat.

A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security has been violated or is threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee or of a private person or entity.

Meanwhile, a writ of habeas data protects a person’s right to control information mainly when the information against the person has been illegally obtained.

In its ruling, the CA said the petition was based on a past act of violence, which was the supposed abduction and detention of the petitioners in September last year.

It said Castro and Tamano were no longer detained by their captors at the time they filed the petition.

The CA said Castro and Tamano failed to present substantial evidence showing they were exposed to life-threatening situations while they were at the camp of the Army’s 70th Infantry Battalion.

It said the petitioners were able to exercise their “full freedom” during their stay at the camp.

The appellate court said the activists’ fear “was rooted not on an actual threat, but on their preconceived distrust and suspicion in the military.”

It said there was no proof of a continuing threat from September 2023 until May this year, as the petitioners could freely move about.

The CA said Tamano and Castro failed to substantiate that their kidnappers were affiliated with the military or any government agency.

The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Lorenza Bordios and concurred in by Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Jaime Fortunato Caringal.