DAVAO CITY, Philippnes—Three human rights lawyers here, including Inquirer columnist Carlos Zarate, have filed separate petitions for a writ of amparo against top military officials in the region.

Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad were among the 106 persons tagged as militants and allegedly listed in the military’s order of battle (OB).

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo made the OB public, saying it was leaked to him by “a very conscientious soldier.”

Col. Lysander Suerte, chief of staff of the 10th ID, confirmed that the military prepares orders of battle from time to time but did not comment on whether Ocampo’s copy was authentic.

“An OB is not for public consumption,” he said.

Manuel Quibod, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said the lawyers filed the petition as they were “preventing an impending threat.”

“These lawyers are lawyers of the poor ... and they have become targets,” he said.

Named respondents in the petitions were Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the 10th Infantry Division; Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia, chief of the 10th ID Public Affairs Department; Col. Oscar Lactao, head of Task Force Davao; and Senior Supt. Ramon Apolinario, city police chief.

While confirming that the military has an OB, Suerte said it did not mean that those in it were targets. The order of battle is just a guide, he said.

“We know the hazard of lawyering for the people,” Zarate said. “I have been in this profession for 15 years already and we are like legal gladiators fighting for the rights of the oppressed. And for that we were included in the order of battle.”

In her petition, Ladaga branded the OB as malicious. “(In the) current political condition prevailing in the country … (the OB) may place petitioner’s life in danger,” she said.

Librado said she wanted the military to remove her name from the list or explain why her name was on it.

She said her inclusion was a threat to “her right to be left alone by the state and its agents.” Jeffrey Tupas, Inquirer Mindanao