SC told of tortured Aetas, a case of 'direct injury' caused by Anti-Terror Law

Two Aetas accused of being communist rebels have been detained on non-bailable charges which their lawyers said was the "first publicly known" court case in which fears about the Philippines' new anti-terrorism law had been realized.

According to the information filed with the Olongapo Regional Trial Court, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos are accused of violating Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 11479 when they allegedly fired at soldiers, killing one Sgt. Rudil Dilao, "thereby causing intimidation to the general public, spreading a message of fear and seriously undermining public safety." 

The two men and their companions, fellow Aetas, also face charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. They are detained at the Olongapo City Jail, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) said.

NUPL president Edre Olalia said their members in Central Luzon said the charges were a way of "reprisal" against "unarmed civilians," indigenous peoples, "for the death of a soldier in an alleged encounter with the NPAs in the area."

"So it proves that almost anything can be contorted to fit the broad and vague definition of terrorism inder the ATA (Anti-Terrorism Act)," Olalia said.

The NUPL, which represents Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other activist groups in one of 37 petitions against the anti-terror law, informed the Supreme Court (SC) of the case in a manifestation filed Wednesday.

They told the court of the "first publicly known direct injury case of the Anti-Terrorism Act" in hopes that it will compel the tribunal to finally issue a temporary restraining order to stop the enforcement of the law before such "questionable legal assaults on the ground" escalate.

The "direct injury case," one in which the implementation of the law is alleged to have actually violated a person's rights, is meant to support the petitions which originally argued that the law's "vague" and "overbroad" language itself fueled fears of arrests, detentions, and other human rights violations under the guise of an anti-terrorism campaign.

In the filing, the NUPL said the Aetas were evacuating from "intense military operations and continued bombings in their ancestral lands" in Zambales when they were "accosted" by members of the Philippine Army, "firearms and explosives planted on them, and falsely accused of being members of the New People's Army."

"Some of the victims were tortured, fed with human feces and were later charged with violation of Section 4(a) of RA 11479, among other crimes," the NUPL said.

The lawyers' group also informed the SC of the "red-tagging" committed by officials of the government's anti-communist insurgency task force against activists, progressive lawmakers, and even news organization CNN Philippines.

"These baseless, blatant, and damaging vilification and red-tagging by those who are key components of the Anti-Terrorism Council have escalated the petitioners’ well-founded fear that RA 11479 and its unbridled power of designation will be used arbitrarily, without recognition of the principles of due process, presumption of innocence and basic rules of evidence," the NUPL said.

The SC said they will hear oral arguments on the petitions but has yet to schedule it. A preliminary conference is set for November 26.

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Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas