Ex-SolGen says prolonged detention of ‘Ilocos Six’ is act of torture

Atty. Estelito Mendoza Photo by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

Former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza on Wednesday said the continuous detention of six employees of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte by the House of Representatives, despite the orders of the Court of Appeals for their immediate release, can already be considered as “torture.”
READ: Ilocos execs face long House detention
Mendoza, the lead counsel of the so-called “Ilocos Six” employees of Ilocos Norte provincial government, said that the continued detention of the officers is already taking its toll on their health.
He said they are suffering undue emotional and psychological anguish not to mention the pitiable detention conditions, which under the anti-torture law constitutes an act of torture.

“We have already filed a writ of habeas corpus. That is more than enough. The writ of habeas should be immediately executory,” Mendoza said.

He said the appeals court’s decision is immediately executory.

On Tuesday, the House committee issued a show cause order requiring the CA justices to explain why they should not be cited for contempt for ordering the release of the so-called Ilocos Six.
READ: House panel issues show-cause order vs CA justices

The show cause order against the three CA justices, according to Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, was intended to “equalize” the House situation, where it was earlier required by the appellate court to explain why it should not be cited for contempt for defying the writ it earlier issued to present the Ilocos Six before the Court.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. have expressed concern over the order.

The House of Representatives continuously defied the CA issuance of a writ requiring the House committee on good government and public accountability and the House of Sergeant-At-Arms to present in person the Ilocos Norte officials before it, and justify their detention.

However, the House leadership and the chamber’s Sergeant-At-Arms disobeyed the order to bring the petitioners before the appellate court. While the habeas corpus case is still pending, the CA granted the plea of the Ilocos Six employees of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte for their immediate release.

The House leadership again did not comply with the CA’s orders for the petitioners’ immediate release from House detention.

The so-called “Ilocos Six” employees—Pedro Agcaoili, Evangeline Tabulog, Josephine Calajate, Eden Battulayan, Genedine Jambaro and Encarnacion Gaor—were detained after they were cited in contempt by the House committee when Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas was not able to ferret out satisfactory answers from them during the congressional inquiry into the local government’s purchase of motor vehicles amounting to P66.45 million, which was sourced from the province’s share of tobacco excise taxes under Republic Act 7171.

Mendoza insisted that their continued detention was tantamount to mental torture.

“The detainees are undergoing torture, which is barred by international conventions and barred explicitly under our laws as well,” he lamented.

The House of Representatives has already defied the CA thrice in rejecting attempts of the sheriff of the appellate court to serve the order for the immediate release of the government officers.

House officials have maintained that the CA’s order is invalid as the appellate court has no jurisdiction over Congress.

For his part, Ilocos Norte Sangguniang Panlalawigan member and lawyer Vicentito Lazo urged the House leaders to adhere to the “rule of law.”

Lazo, co-counsel for the Ilocos Six, rejected the position of Congress that the writ of habeas corpus is useless

“Philippine authorities are under obligation to make available to every person detained all remedies that will safeguard his fundamental right to liberty, these remedies includes the right to bail. So it’s not true that the writ of habeas corpus is meaningless,” he said.

“The problem with Cong. Fariñas is he is insisting that the writ of habeas corpus is useless. It only became useless because they are defying the court order,” Lazo added.

Mendoza added that even if Congress files for a motion for reconsideration, it will not suspend the effectivity of the release order.

Fariñas cited the six employees in contempt and motioned for their detainment for “refusing to answer questions” he asked regarding the purchases based on photocopied documents.

The committee had asked to see the original documents, which had been submitted from corresponding Provincial Capitol offices to the Commission on Audit.

Lazo, however, pointed out that the employees “did not say ‘I refuse to answer, Your Honor.’ What they said was, ‘Those are photocopies. If we could find the originals, we could answer your questions.’”

“But Congressman Fariñas said the originals were lost, and added that the Capitol lost the documents at the COA office itself,” Lazo added. JPV