Philippine court dismisses environmental activists’ plea for protection

The Philippine appeals court dismissed the plea of two young environmental activists for protection after they accused the military of abducting them in September 2023 and it accused them of being linked to leftist insurgents, according to a ruling released Monday.

The court’s former special 8th division dismissed the petitions of Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro for the writ of amparo and the writ of habeas data.

The writ of amparo, if granted, would have given them protection or other relief to safeguard their lives and liberty. The writ of habeas data would have allowed Tamano and Castro, accused by authorities as communists, to access police and military files about them.

The court ruled that the two “failed to sufficiently identify that the perpetrators of their abduction are, in fact, affiliated with the Philippine military or any of the government agencies.

“The records are bereft of any proof linking the actual abductors to any agency of the government,” the court said in its 55-page decision dated Aug. 2 and released to the media on Monday.

The decision was written by Justice Lorenza Bordios, with concurrences from justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Jaime Fortunato Caringal. Two others dissented – Rex Bernardo Pascual dissented partially while Emily San Gaspar-Gito dissented wholly.

Gaspar-Gito, in her dissenting opinion, said it is “uncharacteristic” for the court to ignore the imminent threats to the activists’ lives. She also cited a Supreme Court decision declaring “red-tagging” as an act that threatens a person’s constitutional right to life, liberty and security.

“Red-tagging” is a practice among Philippine military and police personnel of accusing individual people or groups of being communist rebels or sympathizers.

“The danger of further harm against petitioners is real, considering that they have recently been victims of enforced disappearance, which is the subject of the instant petition,” Gaspart-Gito said.

The two activists said they were abducted by military troops on Sept. 2, 2023.

The women, both university students protesting against China-backed reclamation projects in Manila Bay, claimed they were about to board a bus when a military vehicle stopped and masked men seized them.

A few weeks later, they resurfaced in a military-organized press briefing for their supposed surrender. Instead, the two publicly said they were “kidnapped by the military onboard a van” and “coerced to surrender,” much to the shock and chagrin of authorities.

Anti-communist task force

Tamano and Castro, who filed the petitions in February, have yet to comment on the ruling. 

The National Security Council (NSC), which is part of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, welcomed the court decision. NTF-ELCAC is an agency tasked with implementing the government’s strategy of ending the communist insurgency which began in 1969.

“It clearly exposes this case as a mere harassment and baseless case against the task force,” said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement on Monday.

“Using this case, the militant left and all their allied organizations have attempted to demonize the NTF-ELCAC,” said Jonathan Malaya, NSC assistant director general, during a news conference organized by the task force on Monday. “They attempted to use our laws to intimidate, scare and silence us by filing cases in the courts.”

Malaya said the task force will continue until it has “swept the scourge of communist terrorism in the country.”

The task force’s lawyer, Associate Solicitor General Angelita Miranda, told reporters that authorities would file cases against the two activists, but did not disclose details. 

Meanwhile, Irene Khan, the United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC during her visit to Manila in February. The government has since refused to disband the group.

Gerard Carreon in Manila contributed to this report.