SC grants protection order to 'red-tagged' pastors, lay leader

MANILA (UPDATED) — The Supreme Court has granted the protection plea of 2 Batangas-based Christian pastors and a lay leader who were accused of being communist rebels.

In an order dated December 6, the high court issued a writ of amparo in favor of United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) pastors Rev. Edwin Egar, his wife Rev. Julieta Egar, and former barangay captain Ronald Ramos.

The three filed a petition for a writ of amparo in November, alleging that members of the 59th Infantry Battalion (59th IB) placed them under surveillance, included them in a list of alleged New People’s Army rebels, and visited their houses to urge them to surrender.

As a result, the petitioners had to leave their houses and stay elsewhere out of fear.

A petition for a writ of amparo is a remedy available to those whose rights to life, liberty, and security are violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.

• ‘Pressured to surrender’ as rebels, 2 UCCP pastors seek Supreme Court protection

The Supreme Court order also prohibited respondents from “going within a radius of one (1) kilometer of the petitioners and their immediate families.”

Named as respondents to the petition were Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, Philippine Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner, Jr., PA 2nd Infantry Division commanding officer Maj. Gen. Roberto Capulong, and 59th IB commander Lt. Col. Ernesto Teneza, Jr.

Some members of the 59th IB were also included — Sgt. Ronald Dalo, Sgt. John Granpil, Pfc. Borge Ebol, Roy Dela Peña, “Bong” Samela, a certain Lt. Taro, and some unidentified personnel.

Respondents were given 20 days to file their comments to the petition and make a verified return, laying down their legal defenses, the actions they have taken to determine what has happened to the petitioners and all relevant information regarding the alleged threat to petitioners.

The counsel for the pastors and Ramos, Center for International Law (CenterLaw), said in a statement the issuance of the writ of amparo was a "sobering" reminder to state forces "to respect the right to life, liberty, and security of our petitioners."

"Red-tagging is a form of incitement to violence and threatening rhetoric against human rights defenders. It is a tactic that puts the life, liberty, and security of the Petitioners and human rights defenders at risk, hampers legitimate human rights activities, and erodes trust between the Government and civil society actors," it said.

"Red-tagging is one of the main human rights problems in the Philippines for some time now."

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