ILOILO CITY—A former congressman of Bayan Muna party-list sought Supreme Court intervention after a local court here dismissed his petition for court protection in connection with having been allegedly red-tagged by the military.
“I filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court to appeal the order,” Siegfred Deduro told the Manila Bulletin on Friday, November 6.
Judge Nestle Go of the Regional Trial Court (RTC-Branch 24) had earlier denied Deduro’s petition for writ of amparo due to lack of evidence.
Deduro sought court protection after allegedly being named as one of the top officials of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) by the Philippine Army’s Third Infantry Division (3ID).
“I believe that my petition for writ of amparo and evidence submitted was sufficient for the issuance of the writ,” Deduro pointed out while lamenting the failure of the court to even have called for a summary hearing.
For Deduro, the threat on his life is very real due to the killings of Bayan Muna Iloilo City Coordinator Jory Porquia and Negros Karapatan leader Zara Alvarez earlier this year.
“The threats to activists and members of progressive organizations cannot be ignored, especially considering the murder of activists in the wake of red-tagging being carried out by the military and other government officials,” Deduro added.