Vindicated once again: Supreme Court nullifies search warrants served on Tondo 3 activists
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) welcomes the Supreme Court's resolution declaring the search warrants executed in Tondo, Manila during the arrest of activists Reina Mae Nasino, Ram Carlo Bautista, and Alma Moran as void.
April 26, 2024
NUPL
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers is a nationwide voluntary association of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, committed to the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights, especially of the poor and the oppressed.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) welcomes the Supreme Court’s resolution declaring the search warrants executed in Tondo, Manila during the arrest of activists Reina Mae Nasino, Ram Carlo Bautista, and Alma Moran as void. In its resolution dated August 9, 2023, the Court ruled that the evidence obtained under these warrants is inadmissible.

Affirming the decision of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court upheld the reversal of the orders of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 20, which denied the motion to quash the search warrants. The Court of Appeals previously found that the warrants lacked specificity in describing the place to be searched.

The search warrants stated that the house to be searched belonged to Ram, yet he only occupied a room within it, with Reina and Alma also residing on the premises. Furthermore, the addresses listed in the warrants pointed to two different units, thereby enabling law enforcers to abuse their discretion and circumvent the requirement of specificity for search warrants.

The Court also raised doubts about the existence of probable cause in the application for the search warrants, citing inconsistencies in the addresses provided by the police. The lack of probing and exhaustive questions on the part of the issuing court, presided by Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert as executive judge of the Quezon City RTC, during the application for the search warrants “creates a doubt as whether the applicant and his witnesses have personal knowledge of the surrounding circumstances justifying the issuance of search warrant.”

This development marks another victory for the three activists, whose criminal cases were dismissed by the RTC of Manila for insufficient evidence. They were among many activists whose homes and offices were raided under the guise of executing search warrants to be imprisoned on fabricated charges. Its broader significance lies in emphasizing the importance of adhering to constitutional standards to uphold the right against unreasonable search and seizure and safeguard against arbitrary state action. #

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On the criminal charges of grave threat against VP Sara Duterte

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The validity of Sara Duterte’s indictment for grave threat is being questioned in light of the Supreme Court ruling in Ombudsman v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 146486, March 4, 2005). According to the ruling, an “impeachable officer cannot be criminally prosecuted for the same offenses which constitute grounds for impeachment”. In applying such ruling in relation to the indictment of Sara Duterte, the following points should be considered:

TO ALL THOSE TAKING THE BAR EXAMINATIONS BEGINNING TODAY, we honor the long and difficult work that has brought you to this moment.

TO ALL THOSE TAKING THE BAR EXAMINATIONS BEGINNING TODAY, we honor the long and difficult work that has brought you to this moment.

Behind every examinee are years of study, sacrifice, doubt, discipline, and persistence. As you enter the examination rooms, we wish you the best of health, soundness of mind, steadiness under pressure, and resilience for the days ahead. May you find the clarity to draw upon what you have learned, the composure to meet each question as it comes, and the resolve to keep going through fatigue and uncertainty.

LUDICROUS!!!

LUDICROUS!!!

Using the perjured statements of military assets, the government alleged that the Cagayan Valley activists supplied rice to NPA rebels by burying the rice in the hinterlands of Cagayan. The military assets allegedly provided the information to locate the place where the rice were buried. These were excavated, and the rotten rice is being used as a basis to file the case for terrorist financing.

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