(Hong Kong, October 23, 2007) A group of lawyers have released a primer on the writ of amparo, a new rule adopted by the Supreme Court that grants relief to those whose right to life has been violated or threatened. The rule takes effect tomorrow, October 24.
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), a group of lawyers providing free legal aid, explain in their 16-page primer how the rule functions. The full text of the primer can be read at Primer on Writ of Amparo
“This [primer] is useful in better understanding how this new legal mechanism is applied and how people intending to seek remedies can make use of its provisions,” said Jeong Ho Moon, urgent appeals coordinator of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
Before this rule was adopted, there was virtually no possibility for people facing continuing threats or families of the victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances to attain legal remedies. It is a sad fact of life in the Philippines that people facing threats have to take matters, particularly arrangements for their protection, into their own hands.
The relief the new rule can provide after a verified petition is granted are orders for protection, inspection and production and referral to witness protection. The absence of a protection mechanism has proven fatal in the past. A large number of activists have either been murdered or disappeared soon after receiving threats.
Previously, it was not possible to obtain protection for people facing threats as there was usually no case filed or pending in a court, and thus, they did not qualify for witness protection under the provisions of the witness protection law in the Philippines, Republic Act 6981. In addition, there was no legal avenue for family members and other concerned organisations and individuals to inspect police or military headquarters where the disappeared persons are believed to be held nor to obtain copies of records useful in determining the plight of murdered and disappeared victims.
“Now that these legal tools are possible we encourage victims, families of the dead and disappeared and other concerned people to make use of this remedy,” Moon added.
The Supreme Court on September 25 announced its adoption of the writ of amparo as a new rule to prosecute those responsible for the countrys extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The writ of amparo was a practical outcome of the two-day consultation held in July in Manila in response to these human rights violations in the country.
