THE Court of Appeals has granted the petitions for the writs of amparo and habeas data of the daughters of missing activist Felix Salaveria Jr.
A writ of amparo (a Spanish word that means protection) is a special writ to protect or enforce a constitutional right other than physical liberty, while a writ of habeas data is a petition asking the court to compel the respondent to delete or destroy damaging information.
In a ruling dated July 21 penned by Associate Justice Mary Josephine Lazaro, the appellate court’s former thirteenth division granted the request of Salaveria’s daughters Gabreyel and Felicia.
Salaveria and James Jasminez went missing last August in Albay.
Jazmines is a brother of Alan Jazmines, a consultant of the National Democratic Front.
Salaveria’s daughters first sought the help of the Supreme Court, saying they had already exhausted all avenues to locate the two activists, including searching in military camps and police stations, to no avail.
They said CCTV footage taken during the abduction of the two last August in Albay only “led them to stronger suspicion that it was state agents who abducted James and Felix, who were being surveilled for quite some time, according to witnesses.”
In December 2024, the SC referred the case to the CA for a summary hearing.
In its ruling, the appellate court held PNP chief Nicolas Torre III, the CIDG chief at the time of the abduction of Salaveria and Jasminez, responsible and accountable for Salaveria’s disappearance for “failing to exercise extraordinary diligence” in investigating the case.
It also held Brig. Gen. Andre Perez Dizon, the PRO5 Regional Director at the time and now PNPA Academy Director, Col. Julius Añonuevo, provincial director of the Albay Police Provincial Office, Col. Ivy Castillo, chief of the CIDG Regional Field Unit 5, and Lt. Col. Edmundo Cerillo Jr., chief of the Tabaco City Police Station, accountable in the case.
In the same ruling, the appellate court dropped as respondents then PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner due to their lack of involvement in the probe on Salaveria’s disappearance.
“After a meticulous scrutiny of the facts, evidence showed that the respondents failed to discharge the burden of extraordinary diligence in the investigation of Felix’s enforced disappearance,” the CA said, adding that ” the security of Felix is continuously put in jeopardy because of the deficient investigation that directly contributes to the delay in bringing the real perpetrators before the bar of justice.”
In its ruling, the appellate court ordered the said police officers to preserve all evidence related to the case and the petition and to make it available to the Commission on Human Rights and other investigative bodies upon request.
