Dangla seeks SC protection amid rising disappearances of activists

Members of human rights watchdog Karapatan stage a protest in front of the Supreme Court building in Manila on August 30, 2024, in observance of the International Day of the Disappeared. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)

MANILA, Philippines — Environmental activist Francisco Dangla III filed a writ of amparo and writ of habeas data at the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday amid the alleged rise in disappearances of environmental activists.

The petitioner also sought a temporary protection order at the SC for him, his family, and witnesses.

A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated or threatened.

Meanwhile, a writ of habeas data is for those violated by the same persons through collecting or storing information regarding the aggrieved party.

Members of human rights watchdog Karapatan stage a protest in front of the Supreme Court building in Manila on August 30, 2024, in observance of the International Day of the Disappeared. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)

READ: 2 environmentalists allegedly abducted in Pangasinan

Respondents were Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil, former Philippine Army Commanding General Roy Galido, then Commanding General of the 702nd Infantry Brigade Gulliver Señires, then PNP Regional Office 1 Director Lou Evangelista, and then Pangasinan Provincial Police Office Director Jeff Fanged.

Dangla, along with another activist, Joxielle Tiong, was purportedly abducted by masked armed men in Pangasinan last March and resurfaced three days later.

Both of them led local campaigns against proposed black sand mining operations and other environmental issues in the province.

Before the filing, members of the human rights watchdog Karapatan conducted a protest in front of the SC building in Manila to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, observed every 30th day of August.

Members of human rights watchdog Karapatan stage a protest in front of the Supreme Court building in Manila on August 30, 2024, in observance of the International Day of the Disappeared. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)

They were joined by members of Desaparecidos, Kalikasan Peoples’ Network for the Environment, and the Environmental Defenders Congress.

Cristina Guevara, secretary general of Desaparecidos, said the cases of enforced disappearances rose during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

“Under Marcos Jr’s rule, enforced disappearances have become the fastest rising human rights violation, reaching 70 percent of cases documented during Duterte’s entire term,” Guevara said, as quoted in a statement.

Meanwhile, Sassa Rapisora from Karapatan Rizal claimed that “the government is now disappearing activists who are already due for release from prison on trumped-up charges.”

According to Kalikasan, there are 17 cases of abduction involving 27 land and environmental defenders under the current administration.

Eleven of them are still missing, the group said.