Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Human rights groups to file 'writ of amparo' for 2 farmers By Edmund B. Sestoso
TWO militant organizations in Negros Oriental are set to file a writ of amparo before the Supreme Court against government soldiers who are believed to be behind the abduction of two farmers in the hinterlands of Sta. Catalina town.
According to Vimarie Arcilla, an officer of the Cebu-based Karapatan Human Rights Alliance, they believed the soldiers who abducted the farmers are Army 61st Infantry Battalion members. The abduction reportedly occurred when the military were doing an operation in the town.
Arcilla, in a press conference held Monday morning at the Dumaguete Press Club Building, said Karapatan and other human rights groups in the Visayas and in the national level will assist the families of missing farmers Reynold Carillo and Flaviano Arante.
Arcilla serves as the team leader of the recently concluded fact-finding mission organized by the Promotion of Church People's Response.
The victim's mother Rosalia Yanoc learned that her son was tortured by the military.
Arante, the other missing farmer, is a member of the local peasant group Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Sta. Catalina (Namasca). He was reportedly forcibly taken by military men from his home in Sitio Lag-asan, Barangay Nagbinlod in Sta. Catalina town.
"He could not be located until this day," said Arcilla in the same media conference.
The writs of Amparo and habeas data are prerogative writs to supplement the inefficacy of habeas corpus. Amparo means protection, while habeas data is access to information.
By invoking the truth, habeas data will not only compel military and government agents to release information about the missing and disappeared victims but also allow investigators access to military and police files.
Arcilla said the decision to resort to legal action directly with the Supreme Court was arrived at after their recent fact-finding activity was concluded.
Arcilla added that their team has recorded 10 families consisting of 64 individuals who have evacuated from Talalak in Sta. Catalina town because of fear and panic.
