Dr. Benigno “Iggy” Agbayani Jr. —Tina Robles/contributor
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has denied a habeas corpus petition seeking the release of Dr. Benigno Agbayani Jr., who died in detention in October 2023.
The petition was filed by Angeli Akabane, the common-law wife of Agbayani, on his behalf.
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Agbayani faced charges of reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries in May 2023 after using an unsterilized medical instrument during a knee operation on a patient. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison, the SC said in a statement.
“Dr. Agbayani appealed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), which directed him to file his Memorandum of Appeal. Instead of complying with the RTC’s directive, Dr. Agbayani filed his first motion asking for extension of 15 days to file his memorandum, which the RTC granted,” the SC said.
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Agbayani filed two more motions asking for a further extension to file the memorandum but failed to file it within the extended period granted, resulting in the dismissal of his appeal.
In dismissing the habeas corpus petition, the SC noted that such a petition is only suitable for a person illegally deprived of liberty.
“In Dr. Agbayani’s case, his arrest and incarceration were the result of a process issued by a court or by virtue of a judgment or order of a court that has jurisdiction to issue the same. Thus, Dr. Agbayani was rightfully held under custody for which the remedy of a writ of habeas corpus cannot lie,” the SC statement read.
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It added that filing the petition directly before the court violated the principle of the hierarchy of courts.
“Finally, the supervening death of Dr. Agbayani on October 5, 2023, rendered the petition for habeas corpus moot and academic. This event precluded the Court from further exercising its judicial power for lack of a justiciable controversy,” the SC said.