Facts: The brothers
Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, farmers from Bulacan who were suspected of being
members of the New People’s Army, were forcibly taken from their home, detained
in various locations, and tortured by CAFGU and military units. After several
days in captivity, the brothers Raymond and Reynaldo recognized their abductors
as members of the armed forces led by General Jovito Palparan. They also
learned that they were being held in place for their brother, Bestre, a
suspected leader of the communist insurgents. While in captivity, they met
other desaperacidos (including the
still-missing University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn
Cadapan) who were also suspected of being communist insurgents and members of
the NPA. After eighteen months of restrained liberty, torture and other
dehumanizing acts, the brothers were able to escape and file a petition for the
writ of amparo.
Issue: Whether or not
the right to freedom from fear is or can be protected by existing laws.
Held: Yes. The right
to the security of person is not merely
a textual hook in Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. At its core is
the immunity of one’s person against government intrusion. The right to
security of person is “freedom from fear,” a guarantee of bodily and psychological
integrity and security.
To whom may the
oppressed, the little ones, the desaperacidos,
run to, if the Orwellian sword of the State, wielded recklessly by the military
or under the guise of police power, is directed against them? The law thus gives
the remedy of the writ of amparo, in
addition to the rights and liberties already protected by the Bill of Rights. Amparo, literally meaning “to protect,”
is borne out of the long history of Latin American and Philippine human rights
abuses—often perpetrated by the armed forces against farmers thought to be
communist insurgents, anarchists or brigands. The writ serves to both prevent
and cure extralegal killings, enforced disappearances, and threats thereof,
giving the powerless a powerful remedy to ensure their rights, liberties, and
dignity. Amparo, a triumph of natural
law that has been embodied in positive law, gives voice to the preys of silent
guns and prisoners behind secret walls.
(This digest is not meant for Constitutional law. Rather, this is written in fulfillment of an assignment in Legal Philosophy.)
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