Human rights victims in Cagayan have appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA) to press for the enforcement of a writ of amparo it issued to protect the victims from alleged harassment by an influential political family in the province.
Marites Bueno, mother of one of the four minors reportedly tortured in 2009 on suspicion of theft, said justice continues to elude them for four years now.
“We went to the Court of Appeals and defeated them there but up until now, we have yet to see action on my son’s torture case,” Bueno said in a statement.
Bueno appealed to the CA to compel government agencies to fully enforce the writ issued in January 2010 against Francisco Mamba, mayor-elect of Tuao, Cagayan, and his brother, William Mamba, who was defeated in his gubernatorial bid last May 13.
The Mamba brothers and their men were named respondents in the torture case involving Leomar Bueno, Lorenzo Haber, and brothers Robin and Raymund Rodriguez, who were minors when they were tortured in 2009.
In issuing the writ, the CA said: “There is, hence, no doubt that Leomar (Bueno) is covered by the protective mantle of the writ of amparo.”
Criminal cases filed against the Mambas for grave illegal detention, grave threats and coercion, among others, are still pending at the Office of the Ombudsman.