A group of lawyers paid tribute to a trial court decision that nullified the search warrant issued by a Manila court for enforcement in Capiz where nine Tumandok tribesmen were killed and five others were arrested on Dec. 20, 2020.
Capiz Regional trial court (RTC) Judge Rommel Leonor quashed the search warrant issued by the Manila RTC. The quashal led to the release of tribe members Eleutera Caro, Jucie Caro, Rollen Catamin, Marilou Catamin, and Marivic Aguirre.
Under the new rules issued by the Supreme Court (SC), trial courts in the country are authorized to issue warrants only within their judicial regions. The rules revoked the authority granted to some courts, particularly those in Manila and Quezon City, to issue warrants enforceable anywhere in the country.
“We are of course elated that our assertion about the dubiousness of the search warrant and by implication even the violent search itself was validated by a brave and independent court that remained faithful to the law, the Constitution and reason,” National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) President Edre U. Olalia said in a statement.
But Olalia lamented that the court “had to take some time and at irreparable costs to life, liberty and security of our oppressed and poor indigenous peoples.”
“Once again, this latest in a slow yet seemingly steady stream of trial courts' decisions junking assailable search warrants is clear proof that roving or imported warrants solicited by the police was an idea gone wrong and abused,” he said.
“That our SC finally saw this with the latest rules decisively clipping such powers prospectively gives some aid and comfort to the victims and would be victims of rights violations,” he added.