Militant group head files petition for habeas data

CEBU, Philippines - The regional chairman of the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan yesterday filed the first petition for habeas data in the Visayas against the military and police officials who were allegedly responsible in listing his name under the order of battle against suspected rebels.

Paul Rodriguez, Bayan Central Visayas chairman, filed the petition before the Regional Trial Court to force the military and police officials to produce the alleged documents that were made as basis in his inclusion in the military order of battle.

The petition for habeas data is one of the remedies available under the Supreme Court Administrative Order 08-1-16 that took effect in February last year.

Section 1 of the SC’s Administrative Order states that: “The writ of habeas data is a remedy to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act of omission of a public official or employee, or of private individual or entity engaged in gathering, collecting, or storing of data, or information regarding the person, family, home and correspondence of the aggrieved party.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command chief Armando Cunanan and Cebu Provincial Police Office chief Carmelo Valmoria were named respondents of the petition as well as the chief of the Military Intelligence Group of Centcom and the Regional Mobile Group-7 of the Philippine National Police.

Rodriguez said he is an active member of Bayan since it was founded in 1980 to bring forth the people’s issues like corruption, land reform, unemployment, repression and oppression to the government.

Since then, he added that it has become common to him to receive death threats and even experienced several attempts of abductions and actual attempts to his life and his family.

Sometime in August 2005, he claimed his friends from media told him that he was in the military order of battle for allegedly being a member of the New People’s Army.

Rodriguez said he chose to ignore the report as his conscience was reportedly clear but the same information cropped up in 2006 but again, he ignored it considering that there was also no available remedy for him to correct it.

However, in May 2008 he came across a document with a heading “order of battle of the Central Visayas Regional Party Command” that allegedly contained his name and that of other militant leaders Jaime Paglinawan, Ramon Patriarca, Sergio Repuela and Demetrio Carnece.

The said document was attached in the ex-parte motion that the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has filed before the RTC in Danao City to insert the true name of a certain Ka Yuri in the alias warrant for the rebellion case against Patriarca and other accused.

Rodriguez said he was alarmed for his security because what he thought at first was rumor is now becoming true especially with the arrest of Patriarca lately.

According to Rodriguez, the order of battle released by the military and the police that contained his name is in violation of his rights to security and poses a threat to his life and liberty considering that two of those in the list, Patriarca and Ricardo Bellamia, have already been arrested and branded as high ranking NPA officials.

Rodriguez prayed before the court to enjoin the military and the police from disseminating the information and to order the respondents to produce the information in its possession regarding him and his family and correct, suppress or destroy it from the data base depending on what action is applicable as determined by the court. — Fred P. Languido/WAB   (THE FREEMAN)