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CHIEF
Justice Reynato Puno said on Monday that the writ of
habeas data, the third legal remedy that is expected to
counter enforced disappearances and extrajudicial
killings, is likely to be implemented before the end of
the year.
In his
speech delivered during the Right to Information Policy
Forum and organizational meeting of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco)
Information for All Program (IFAP), Puno said the
Supreme Court’s Committee on Rules is finalizing the
regulations that will govern the writ of habeas data
before it would be submitted to the Court en banc for
approval.
Puno
defined the writ of habeas data as a new legal remedy
for a person to find out what information is collated
about him, particularly by the police or the military
and other law-enforcement agencies, and to disclose the
use and the purpose of such information.
In cases
involving extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances, habeas data would entitle the families
of victims to know the truth surrounding the fate of
their relatives, Puno said.
“Writ of
habeas data would give the victim more authority to
gather or extract data about the disappearances both
from public and private authorities,” Puno said.
“Aside
from giving individuals the right to find out what
information is being kept about them, the writ of habeas
data seeks to protect the right to find out what use and
for what purpose such data are being collected. The
person is also given the opportunity to question the
data and demand their updating, rectification or
destruction,” Puno added.
On the
other hand, the writ of amparo, according to Puno, is
more comprehensive than the writ of habeas data on the
matter of protecting constitutional rights.
The writ
of amparo, which took effect on October 25, empowers the
courts to issue reliefs that may be granted through
judicial orders of protection, production, inspection
and other reliefs to safeguard one’s life and liberty.
Under
the rule, state agents are compelled to look for the
missing person and may be held liable for not exerting
effort in finding the person.
“Before
the end of the year. We were able to craft the rule on
the writ of amparo in two months. We are hoping that we
can do the same,” he said.
Puno
also assured that the rule on writ of habeas data would
not in any way violate the “substantive rights” of
journalists, the police and the military, or the other
branches of the government, as well as individuals.
“Let me
also say that this writ of habeas data, like the writ of
amparo, will never violate any substantial right already
existing or granted in our statute of books; for
instance, the right of journalists to protect the
sources of their information is a right granted in a
substantive law, and that right can never be overcome or
defeated by the writ of amparo or the writ of habeas
data,” Puno said.
“This
rule on habeas data is not intended to disturb existing
substantive rights either granted by law or the
constitution. So all these legal protections on
confidentiality, all these protections on military and
police secrets, investigation, secrets about foreign
relations will not be destroyed, neither diminished by
the enactment by this rule on habeas data,” he said.
Puno
said once the writ of habeas data is adopted—together
with the writ of amparo and writ of habeas corpus—it
would complete the citizens’ legal armory against
violations and threats to the rights to life, liberty,
security and information.
Puno
also said Congress should also enact a more
comprehensive rule for the effective implementation of
writ of habeas data, just like what has been done in the
US, Europe and other Latin American countries.
“This
writ of habeas data initially may only be used in the
protection of the constitutional right to life, liberty
and security, we may not be able to enact a rule that is
more responsive in its coverage, we want the more
comprehensive rule to really come out from our
Congress,” he added.
He
pointed out that in
Argentina,
like in Peru, the equivalent of habeas data “includes
the judicial remedy to enforce one’s right to access,
rectify, update or destroy the data.”
“In
Paraguay, for instance, an action for a writ of habeas
data was filed to view police records bringing to light
several atrocities that had been committed. In
Argentina, the Argentine Supreme Court had ruled that
the writ of habeas data was available to families of the
deceased in a case involving extralegal killings and
enforced disappearances. It gave the victims access to
police and military records otherwise closed to them,”
he said.
“It is
our fervent hope that with the help of the writ of
habeas corpus, the writ of amparo and the writ of habeas
data, we can finally bring to a close the problem of
extralegal killings and enforced disappearances in our
country, spectral remains of the martial-law regime,” he
stressed. |
