THE Court of Appeals has junked a petition for habeas corpus filed by the common law wife of a murder suspect in Antipolo City, who said her husband had been mistakenly arrested by the police in December 2022 in connection with the killing of a barangay official.
In a 14-page resolution promulgated on September 8, the appellate court’s Tenth Division junked the plea of Mary Jane Villanueva, who sought the court’s help to free her husband, Melandro Ramos, from detention, saying the petition failed to show the issuance of the writ was warranted in this case.
A writ of habeas corpus is an order to present a person before the court to determine if the arrest and detention are legal or if a person must be released from custody or detention.
Ramos was arrested last June 21 by operatives of the Rizal Police Provincial Office and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group based on a warrant of arrest issued by Antipolo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 97 Judge Marie Claire Victoria Mabutas Sordan.
The suspect was identified by witness Ryan Casarro as the one who shot and killed Rogie Gamboa, a sitio chairman in Sitio Pangulurin, Antipolo City, on December 27, 2022.
The petitioner said the police operatives erred in arresting Ramos and detaining him at the CIDG Rizal Provincial Unit Custodial Facility since the latter is not the “Melan” identified in a warrant of arrest as Melan Melanio alias “Milan.”
The petitioner submitted to the court a copy of his identification card and barangay certification issued by the barangay chairman of San Jose, Antipolo City to prove that the Melan Melanio alias “Milan” as stated in the warrant is different from Melandro Ramos.
She further alleged that her common-law husband was not charged with any criminal offense and the warrant used in apprehending him was not effective, thus his continued detention constituted illegal deprivation of his liberty.
But the appellate court disagreed.
“As shown by the documentary evidence, Melandro was arrested pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Sordan, which was precipitated by an information for murder filed by Associate City Prosecutor Madeleine Bayani-De Mesa,” the CA ruling penned by Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar Gito said.
Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Eduardo Peralta Jr. and Walter Ong.
The appellate court also said that while the name Melandro was not the one referred to in the warrant of arrest, “it does not mean they are different persons.
“Witness Ryan confirmed that the one charged in the murder case whose name appeared in the warrant of arrest was the same person who was arrested,” the CA said, adding that in his testimony, the witness was “familiar’ with the person of Melandro.
Citing Supreme Court jurisprudence, the appellate court further held that the most basic criterion for the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus is that the individual seeking such relief be illegally deprived of his freedom of movement or placed under some form of illegal restraint.
If an individual’s liberty is restrained via some legal process as in the case of Ramos, the writ of habeas corpus is unavailing.
“As the petition failed to show that the issuance of the writ is warranted in this case, the same must be denied,” it added.
