Evading Accountability, Philippine Court Denies Protection Orders For IPT Witness Jonila Castro And Activist Jhed Tamano

August 19, 2024- On August 6, 2024, the 8th Division of the Philippine Court of Appeals denied the application for writ of amparo and writ of habeas data of environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, which would have provided the two activists with legal protection from further harassment. The ruling exemplifies the increasing dangers faced by environmental defenders and activists as forced disappearances continue to mount under the Marcos Jr regime. By denying the activists’ request, the Philippine court evades any sense of accountability and perpetuates the culture of impunity that continues to thrive in the Philippines.

“The denial of the protective writs puts Castro and Tamano in grave danger and makes them vulnerable to further harassment, red-tagging, abduction and further attacks from state agents, particularly those from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC),” said ICHRP Global Chairperson Peter Murphy.

According to the decision, Castro and Tamano failed to “sufficiently identify that the perpetrators of their abduction are, in fact, affiliated with the Philippine military or any of the government agencies.” It also said that they failed to establish the existence of an imminent or continuing threat from September 19, 2023, to May 2024.

The court appears to have wilfully denied the televised evidence of military and police control of the abduction of the two women, and the subsequent charge of criminal libel against the two abductees.

“The decision is in direct violation of international standards for human rights and of international treaties on human rights, to several of which the Philippines is a signatory. Locally, it violates Philippine laws such as the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act, and provisions in the Philippine Constitution which supposedly protects its citizens from human rights violations,” continued Murphy.

It must be remembered that Castro and Tamano were abducted by suspected military agents last September 2, 2023. They were held under the military’s custody for 15 days and were subjected to various forms of torture and threats. In a widely-televised press conference organized by the NTF-ELCAC on September 17, 2023, they were presented as “rebel surrenderees”. But the two bravely exposed the military’s lies by recounting their abduction during the said press conference. Castro was also one of the witnesses during the recently concluded International People’s Tribunal in May this year. She painstakingly shared their ordeal at the hands of their abductors.

“This recent decision by the Court of Appeals exposes the inability of the Philippine courts to give justice to victims of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. It affirms the findings of Investigate PH on the failure of judicial remedies for victims seeking justice in Philippine courts,” reiterated Murphy.

“ICHRP calls for the reversal of the decision and for the Philippine government to protect the two activists from further harm. We condemn the Philippine military, especially the NTF-ELCAC, and the Philippine government’s  continued harassment and attacks on Castro and Tamano. These attacks on environmental defenders and other human rights defenders should stop. END IMPUNITY!” concluded Murphy.

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