Groups seek SC temporary protection rules vs red-taggers

The Supreme Court has been asked to promulgate rules, including the mandatory issuance of temporary protection orders and writ of amparo, to stop state security forces from engaging in red-tagging and terrorist designation.

In a nine-page letter sent to Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, several progressive groups urged the high court to implement new rules that provide urgent and practical reliefs to human rights victims, including those red-tagged and designated as terrorists.

Among those who sent the letter to the SC are officials of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

The appeal came amid continuing allegations of red-tagging and the Anti-Terrorism Council’s designation of 29 people as suspected terrorists.

The groups cited a report of the National Union of People’s Lawyers to the SC on April 23 which said that 57 percent or about 84 of the 147 attacks on lawyers and judges during the past decade were committed against those who were engaged in human rights and public interest litigation.

The groups urged the SC to consider measures to protect lawyers and judges, such as a review of existing rules on the writ of amparo, the writ of habeas corpus, and other pre-detention and pre-trial remedies, with an assessment of their efficacy in safeguarding fundamental rights.

According to them, the high court should also include the groups or associations of persons sharing a common advocacy or cause as aggrieved parties who may file a petition for the writ of amparo or habeas data.

They asked the SC to establish a central repository of criminal charges by which the people can be informed of cases filed against them.

“The promulgation of uniform rules for pre-trial remedies uphold the accused’s constitutional right to due process, including the mandatory furnishing of records on the application for a search warrant to the accused from the point of arrest,” the groups said.

Trial courts should also issue reminders on the issuance of search warrants to make sure that constitutional requirements and due regard for constitutional rights are strictly complied, they said.

They appealed for the SC to investigate what they called “search warrant factories,” citing the “Bloody Sunday” incident wherein police and military personnel served several warrants on March 7 that resulted in the death of nine activists in Calabarzon.