The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Gabriela welcomed the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to uphold its earlier decision in favor of the two abducted organizers Elizabeth “Loi” Magbanua and Alipio “Ador” Juat.

In its decision on August 6, the court upheld its previous decision of granting a “permanent protection order” to Ruth Manglanan, partner of lesbian KMU organizer Magbanua. It dismissed the Office of the Solicitor General’s motion to reverse this earlier decision. The court said its decision is final because “there are no compelling reasons or significant arguments to reverse the questioned resolution.”

Apart from giving a “permanent protection order,” it also stated that Lt. Gen. Vicente Bacarro, then chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other defense officials, did not exercise “extraordinary diligence” in their investigation regarding Magbanua’s disappearance. The decision effectively ordered the AFP to conduct a genuine and thorough investigation into the case.

It can be recalled that the OSG filed the motion on May 21 following the Supreme Court’s decision on January 30. In 2022, the Supreme Court also upheld the writ of amparo for Magbanua and Juat, which servce as a legal remedy for finding the two.

Magbanua and Juat were abducted by state forces in Barangay Punturin, Valenzuela City on May 3, 2022. They have long been actively fighting for the rights and welfare of workers. Juat’s son said his father contacted him in the third week of May 2022 and was able to relay that he and Magbanua were arrested by Philippine Navy forces.

“It is only just to hold on to this victory to further advance the struggle for justice for all victims of human rights violations,” KMU said regarding the court’s decision. It said continuous action should be taken to hold accountable those responsible for the abduction and disappearance of Magbanua and Juat.

In a statement, Bahaghari’s alliance of LGBT+ organizations also recognized the court’s decision. Aside from the call to surface Magbanua, the group emphasized that the court also recognized the rights of the two as lesbian partners.

“For a conservative country, the organization sees this as a preliminary victory for the long struggle of the country’s LGBT militants,” the group said.