A MANILA court has dismissed a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Joven Javier, one of the suspects taken into custody by authorities in connection with the March 4 killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others.
In a July 5 decision, Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 16 Presiding Judge Janice Yulo-Antero said Javier’s detention is a “lawful” act, thus, his plea should be junked.
“In the case at bar, it appears that petitioner is deprived of liberty under a warrant of commitment in pursuance of law, the return is thus considered prima facie evidence of the cause of restraint. The petitioner has failed to present evidence to rebut or contradict such,” the court’s five-page order said.
In the plea filed in May, Javier told the court he was being “unlawfully detained and deprived of his liberty by the order and at the behest of respondents Department of Justice, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and National Bureau of Investigation Director Medardo de Lemos,” without any formal charge or judicial warrant.
But the prosecution panel headed by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon told the court that Javier is not unlawfully restrained as information for illegal possession of firearms and murder charges were already lodged against him.
The court agreed with the prosecution panel’s argument and in its ruling held that Javier’s continued detention is lawful. It said Javier “has pending criminal cases for murder and illegal possession of firearms.”
Sought for comment, DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said, “The decision states in very simple terms that there was no basis to file the petition in the first place. The judiciary is now aware of the dilatory and diversionary tactics of lawyers that seek to further the conspiracy behind the Pamplona massacre,” Clavano said.
