The Supreme Court (SC) has kicked off its series of multisectoral focus group discussions in a bid to strengthen the protective writs of habeas corpus, amparo, and habeas data.
SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said the consultations, which have been sanctioned by the Court En Banc, will be spearheaded by the SC Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, which he chaired.
According to the SC, focus group discussions (FGDs) are being conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the effectiveness and limitations of the protective writs.
The consultations are being held in Baguio, Cebu, and Davao provinces where participants are being asked to share their experiences and discuss challenges and areas for improvement in the formulation and implementation of the writs.
Leonen expressed optimism about garnering valuable insight from key stakeholders in the Judiciary, the academe, law enforcement and prosecution, and the affected public.
Consultations are expected to conclude in September. The findings will be submitted to the technical working group under the Human Rights Committee to ensure actionable recommendations in proposing amendments to the three protective writs.
The SC said the consultations form part of the Judiciary’s continued efforts to review the relevance and effectiveness of the rules, as guided by the principles laid out in the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022- 2027, which is a brainchild of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
A Writ of Amparo is a legal remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security has been violated or under threat while the writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security has been violated or under threat by the unlawful gathering of information about the person, his or her family and home.
A writ of habeas corpus “is a writ directed to a person detaining another, commanding the former to produce the body of the latter at a designated time and place.”
It extends “to all cases of illegal and arbitrary detention by which any person is deprived of his liberty….”
A writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security has been violated or under threat by the unlawful gathering of information about the person, his or her family, and home.
Several human rights groups have appealed to the high tribunal to strengthen the so-called protection writs in light of the rampant red-tagging and terrorist-labelling being done to activists, journalists and other sectors on different media platforms.