Court denies Amparo petition of Cordova fisherfolk

THE court was not  convinced that  lives of Cordova fisherfolk who filed a case to stop the town’s reclamation project were in danger.

Acting Executive Judge Teresita Abarquez-Galanida of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Mandaue denied a petition for issuance of a Temporary Protection Order filed by three fisherfolk .

The three asked for a writ of amparo, alleging that they were “harassed” and their freedom and security were at stake after they filed a graft case against Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy  and six other government officials who approved the Cordova Reclamation Project.

Meanwhile, work at the Cordova Reclamation Project has temporarily stopped.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said  the contractor who hauls filling materials to the site gave up because of the truck ban in Lapu-Lapu City.

“They’ve given up especially with the truck ban, but I’m not blaming the local government unit,” she said.

Garcia said the province, which is executing a 10-hectare reclamation, is  looking for another contractor  and exploring the use of barges to transport dredging materials to fill up the foreshore land.

Fisherfolk Cirilo Pagobo, Eduardo Quijano and Alejandro Baguio filed the petition for a writ of amparowere among the petitioners in the case.

The judge, however, said on its face the petition “is bereft of  any convincing evidence showing that the right to life, liberty and security of the petitioners had been violated or threatened.”

Mayor Sitoy was quick to accuse ecology  lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos of “using” the fishermen  to advance the case to secure funding for their organization since the dispute made it to newspaper headlines.

Two weeks ago, the fisherfolk together with ecology advocates filed a case with the Visayas Ombudsman against Mayor Sitoy,  Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia,Interior  Secretary Jesse Robredo and three other government officials in relation to the Cordova reclamation project.

After that, the fishermen were alarmed when  three of their own were invited by Mayor Sitoy to a meeting which was viewed as “harassment”. Sitoy said he invited them  only to inquire why they filed the cases.

The writ of amparo is an extraordinary remedy for persons whose right to life, liberty and security is threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee.

The writ covers cases of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or the threats thereof. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent