The Supreme Court concurred with the relatives of the abducted activist James Jazmines in their petition for a writ of amparo and habeas data. In a resolution dated May 6, which the lawyers received only on July 3, the court ordered Pres Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his military and police officials to submit a response to the filed petitions.
In addition, the Supreme Court issued a temporary protection order for Jazmines’s wife and close family to protect them from possible retaliation and attacks by those whom the court ordered to answer. The court also directed the Court of Appeals to conduct hearings on the petitions starting July 7 and to decide on the matter. Jazmines’s wife, Corazon, filed the petitions in November 2024.
“At long last, we can conduct hearings on Mrs. Jazmines’s petitions,” Karapatan second secretary general Atty. Maria Sol Taule said. “The Jazmines family has waited almost half a year for a resolution from the Supreme Court regarding this matter,” she added.
The writ of amparo is a legal remedy for persons whose right to life, liberty, and security has been violated or is threatened by unlawful action or inaction of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
Meanwhile, the writ of habeas data compels state forces to disclose all information they hold regarding the abducted persons.
“The results of petitions for writs like these have been mixed,” Taule warned. She cited as an example the Court of Appeals’ denial of the petitions of Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, despite clear evidence against state forces that abducted them.
In the case of abducted activists Elgene Mungcal and Elena Pampoza, the petition of relatives was granted and they were given temporary protection, but police and military harassment of their families were relentless. “Nevertheless, we stand with the families of Salaveria and Jazmines in the sincere hope that the courts will issue decisions that will lead to the reappearance of their missing loved ones,” Taule said.
State agents seized James Jazmines on August 23, 2024 in Tabaco City, Albay. He served as a propagandist of Kilusang Mayo Uno from 1988 to 1992, and in his youth was the editor of Commitment, the newspaper of the League of Filipino Students. He also served as executive director of the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center. Since the mid-2000s, he has been an adviser on information technology matters and has worked in this field.
Also abducted that month, on August 28, 2024, was 66-year-old Felix Salaveria Jr, an active member of Cycling Advocates (CYCAD). Salaveria often accompanied Jazmines on his bicycle rides.
