The Supreme Court granted the petition of activist Francisco “Eco” Dangla III for a Temporary Protection Order, Writ of Amparo, and Habeas Data. It upheld the decision in a ruling on September 9, which was only made public yesterday, October 30. Dangla and his companion, Joxelle “Jak” Tiong, were abducted by state forces on March 24 in Barangay Polo, San Carlos City, Pangasinan.

State agents hid the two activists for three days before surfacing them on March 27. Witnesses stated the two were abducted after an SUV blocked the tricycle they were riding. Two to three men from the SUV and one from a motorcycle beat them up and took them away, witnesses said. They also heard Tiong asking for help.

Dangla, 39, is a former University of the Philippines student and is currently Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Pangasinan spokesperson. Tiong, 29, a Universidad de Dagupan graduate, is the province’s Kabataan Partylist coordinator. Both are organizers of the Pangasinan People’s Strike for the Environment, a group opposed to the planned black sand mining and construction of a nuclear power plant in the province. Before the incident, they had been subjected to relentless red-tagging, surveillance, intimidation, and other forms of harassment.

The temporary protection order prohibited the respondents, and all entities that the respondents can influence or instruct, from approaching the two, including their families, within a one-kilometer radius.

Named in the petition are Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Roy Galido, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil, Brigadier General Gulliver Señires as commander of the 702nd IBde, Ilocos Region police chief Police Brigadier General Lou Evangelista, and Police Colonel Jeff Fanged as the chief of police in Pangasinan.

Related to the decision, the Supreme Court ordered the Court of Appeals to immediately conduct hearings and make a decision on the case within 10 days. The CA has the power to grant Dangla the privilege of a writ of amparo and habeas data. It will also decide whether to grant Dangla permanent protection from the state forces named in the petition.

The writ of amparo is a protection for individuals or groups whose lives, liberty, and security are threatened by the military, police, and state. The habeas data, on the other hand, obliges state agencies to release and destroy all documents or information gathered by the military and police against these groups.