‘Alabang Boys’ camp asks CA to reconsider ruling on habeas plea

MANILA, Philippines – The camp of the so-called Alabang Boys on Monday asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to reverse its earlier ruling that the drug suspects’ continued detention at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was legal. In their motion for reconsideration, the fathers of Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, and Joseph Tecson argued that their sons should be released because an internal rule of the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot supersede the law ordering the liberty of suspects in dismissed cases. The DOJ’s Department Circular No. 46 provides that dismissed drug cases are subject to the automatic review of the Justice secretary. "The internal and unpublished Department Circular No. 46 cannot amend laws… The release of the subjects pending automatic review is mandated by the Revised Manual for Prosecutors promulgated by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez," they said. On February 2, the CA’s Special 13th Division junked their petition for the writ of habeas corpus and ruled that the suspects’ continued detention is "for a valid and just cause pending completion of the preliminary investigation proceedings." The court further said that the DOJ resolution recommending the dismissal of the drug case against the three suspects is not yet final and cannot be deemed "binding and effective" pending the automatic review of Gonzalez. But in their motion for reconsideration, the fathers of the suspects argued that "the time periods for the preliminary investigation and the automatic review have already elapsed. Therefore, there is no cause for the continued detention of the subjects." The petitioners said that their sons only signed a waiver consenting to their detention because they understood they will only be detained only for 30 days – the period allotted for a preliminary investigation. "Any extension of time of the waivers was not consented to by the subjects," they said. The drug suspects, who were arrested by PDEA agents on Sept. 20, 2008, submitted themselves to preliminary investigation a day after. - Sophia Dedace and Carlo Lorenzo, GMANews.TV