Tamano, Castro hearing postponed; respondents sought extension –lawyer

The Court of Appeals hearing for Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro’s petition was postponed after the respondents sought an extension in the filing of their return, the environmental activists’ counsel said Thursday.

“Supposedly ngayon ‘yung setting for the preliminary conference para doon sa habeas data at saka writ of amparo. Ibig sabihin, dito sana pag-uusapan kung paano masi-simplify ‘yung issues at saka kung ano ba ‘yung stipulations ng parties,” lawyer Dino De Leon said in an ambush interview.

(Today was supposed to be the setting of the preliminary conference for the habeas data and the writ of amparo. This means that we would have talked about how to simplify the issue as well as the stipulations of the parties.)

“Hindi ‘yun natuloy dahil lang sa wala pang nasa-submit na return ‘yung respondents, no [this did not push through because the respondents did not submit a return],” he added.

De Leon said the respondents asked for an extension until Friday.

“Kasi sa rules, ‘yung return can be filed by the respondents within five working days, no, and ngayon ‘yung deadline, supposedly. Pinagbigyan ng Korte ‘yung OSG at ‘yung mga respondents na i-submit ‘yung return bukas para sa Lunes ay makapag-proceed,” he said.

(Under the rules, the return can be filed by the respondents within five working days, no, and today is the deadline, supposedly. The court allowed the OSG and the respondents to submit their return tomorrow so that the case will proceed on Monday.)

The respondents are Lieutenant Colonel Ronnel Dela Cruz and members of the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, Police Captain Carlito Buco and members of the Philippine National Police Bataan, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, and all individuals acting under their direction. They are represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

GMA News Online has reached out to the OSG for comment.

Supreme Court order

The CA hearing stemmed from the directive of the Supreme Court for the appellate court to conduct a summary hearing on the reliefs sought by Tamano and Castro.

The SC gave the order as it granted the two a temporary protection order and a writ of amparo and habeas data, saying that Tamano and Castro proved “by substantial evidence the allegations in their petition meriting the protection of their freedoms.”

“So yun yung purpose nung trial, for the purpose of the permanent protection order [So that’s the purpose of the trial, for the purpose of the permanent protection order]” De Leon said.

In September 2023, the NTF-ELCAC claimed that Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro surrendered to the 70IB in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan in the same month. 

It presented the two at a press conference, ostensibly for them to debunk reports of their abduction. However, the activists affirmed that they had been abducted by the military.

This led the military to file a perjury complaint against Tamano and Castro before the Department of Justice (DOJ) in October 2023. The DOJ later recommended, and filed, grave oral defamation charges against them.

A Bulacan court issued an arrest warrant against Tamano and Castro over the defamation charge. Both posted bail in the amount of P18,000 each on Wednesday. — BM, GMA Integrated News