(Added: Full text of The Rule on the Writ of Amparo or the Questions and Answers)
Concerned about the growing number of cases of disappearance in the country, the Supreme Court (SC) now contemplates introducing the writ of amparo into the legal system to give more protection to constitutional rights of a person as the petition for habeas corpus has proved not very effective remedy in compelling the state to produce persons thought to be victims of disappearance.In the Philippines, relatives of missing persons usually seek legal remedy by filing a petition for habeas corpus, a special proceeding under Rule 102 of the Rules of Court, to compel the state to produce persons thought to be victims of disappearance.
The SC said recently, however, that petitions for habeas corpus usually end up with state agents simply denying they had the missing person in their custody. Chief Justice Panganiban explained that the writ of amparo would compel state agents to look for the missing person and the agents would be held liable if they did not exert adequate effort in finding the person.
The writ of amparo, which was asked in the previous bar exams, was first adopted in Mexico in 1857 (”amparo” literally means “protection”). It’s broader in scope and application than the writ of habeas corpus in that it protects a person against illegal arrest and violation of human rights. In Mexican jurisdiction, the amparo procedure has two parts. The preliminary one – suspension incident – tends to prevent the consummation of alleged violations. The court, without issuing any opinion as to whether or not the acts stated really do violate an individual right, suspends their effects so that the final decision granting the amparo may have practical effect. In the other part of the procedure the facts alleged are proved and a study is made as to whether or not they violate the rights invoked.
Under Sec. 5(5) of Art. VIII of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is clothed with powers to promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice and procedure in all courts. The provision is intended not only to underscore that constitutional rights are mere declaratory, but also enforceable. By virtue of this constitutional grant of power, the SC may adopt the writ of amparo in order to effectively shield a person against the violation of human rights by arbitrary authorities.
Sources:
The Writ of Amparo. Mexican Procedure to Protect Human Rights (JSTOR)
Writ of amparo protects citizens against abuses (By Ismael G. Khan, Jr., Inquirer)
Writ of Amparo to compel state to act on disappearances (Inquirer)
You may also want to read these related posts:
General Provisions by jlp on July 19th, 2006
Accountability of Public Officers by jlp on July 19th, 2006
Is Lito Lapid Still A Senator? by Joselito Basilio on June 13th, 2007
Hi Gentleman:
just a question,
Does it need to have a constitutional convention to implement or adopt the writ of amparo, or is it already inherent part of our judicial system
Hope for your reply…
Many thanks
Pax,
That would be the subject of a lively discussion. Perhaps we could start with Article VIII of the Constitution:
Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall have the following powers:
xxx
(5) Promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights xxx.
As noted in the post above, “the Supreme Court (SC) now contemplates introducing the writ of amparo into the legal system to give more protection to constitutional rights of a person as the petition for habeas corpus has proved not very effective remedy in compelling the state to produce persons thought to be victims of disappearance.”
In other words, considering that the power to promulgate rules on the writ of Amparo is already within the powers of the SC, there’s no need to tinker with the Constitution. It’s immaterial whether or not the writ of amparo is an inherent part of our judicial system (unless there’s a good reason to convince me otherwise =).
thanks atty. fred =)
I believe that this site would be a big help,
right now im on my 2nd year political sci. course and im planning to takeup afterwards
Erratum:
I believe that this site would be a big help,
right now im on my 2nd year political sci. course and im planning to takeup law afterwards…
If i have a question, im just going to post it here thanks again
Pax, thank you for the kind words. Maybe you could similarly help by submitting articles that are informative to everyone. Good luck.