Court of Appeals denies protection writs for abducted green activists

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals has denied the application of protection writs for environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro who were abducted by the military in September 2023.

In a 58-page decision promulgated on August 2, the appellate court’s former special eight division of five junked the application of the privilege of writ of habeas data and amparo for the activists due to their “failure to establish their claims as substantial evidence.”

The court, however, called the abduction and their detention “credible, straightforward, and worthy of belief.”

“However, whether they are entitled to the privilege of the writs of amparo and habeas data is another matter altogether. After examination of the parties' respective evidence, We are of the view that petitioners failed to prove their allegations by substantial evidence,” the court said. 

The Court of Appeals said that the activists failed to prove that there is a continuing threat to them as they were “no longer detained by their abductors at the time of the filing of the petition.”

“Thus, any restraint upon their liberty had already ceased by then and they must now show the existence of a continuing or imminent threat for the privilege of the writ to issue,” the court’s decision read.

The court also said that there is no proof of a continuing threat against Tamano and Castro as the pair claimed ongoing surveillance despite the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary protection order. 

In February this year, the Supreme Court granted the activists’ application of the writs. The high court also included a temporary protection order for the pair while the merits of the petition is being heard before the Court of Appeals. 

Once a Temporary Protective Order is granted, law enforcement officers and government officials are prohibited from entering within a one-kilometer radius of the individual's location.

The appellate court also added that there is no evidence of continuing threat or state participation as the activists “failed to sufficiently identify the perpetrators of their abduction.”

“To recapitulate, it is readily discernible that the privilege of the writ of amparo cannot be