C. J. Teehankee
Facts:
Eduardo Dizon, a 30 year old businessman, and Isabel Ramos, 22 years and a former architecture student, disappeared during Martial Law. The two had been arrested with others by the military, detained in the military camp, and then claimed by the military to have been released after nine days. But they were not released to their parents, who had been visiting them, and were never seen or heard from by anyone since then.
The application for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus had been filed by petitioners, Juan Dizon and Soledad Ramos, on behalf of their son, Eduardo Dizon and their daughter, Isabel Ramos, respectively, who were arrested by Philippine Constabulary of the Pampanga PC Command then led by respondent Provincial Commander Col. Teddy Carian at, Sta. Ana, Pampanga without warrant of arrest or Presidential Order of Arrest. They were detained by the respondents at the PC Stockade at San Fernando, Pampanga under the jurisdiction of respondents Brig. Gen. Vicente Eduardo, then Regional Commander of the area, holding office at Camp Olivas, and Col. Teddy Carian for interrogation and investigation without assistance of counsel.
The Court issued the writ of habeas corpus on December 29, 1981. In the return of the writ filed on behalf of respondents on January 5,1982, by then Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza, and verified by respondent, then Provincial Commander Col. Carian, respondents insisted that the detainees were indeed released on September 24,1981, and submitted the supporting affidavits of the men assigned with respondent Carian's Provincial Headquarters.
Respondents denied petitioners' allegation of falsification of the detainees' signatures on their release papers, claiming that the same were signed in their presence and asked for dismissal of the petition.
Jose Diokno, as counsel for the petitioners, invoked the United Nations General Assembly Resolution to stop the practice of enforced disappearances. He also posed several questions to the Court.
Issues:
1. Do petitioners have the burden in law of proving that the detainees are still detained by respondents or does the burden shift to respondents of proving that they did release the detainees?
2. If respondents have the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that they released the detainees, have they in fact discharged that burden in this case?
3. If respondents have not satisfied the Court that they released the detainees, but nevertheless refuse or are unable to produce their bodies, what relief may the Court grant petitioners?
Held: respondents, No, reinvestigation by the CHR
Case remanded to CHR for further investigation.
Ratio:
1. The general rule in a number of cases that the release of a detained person renders the petition for habeas corpus moot and academic.
Respondents make such a plea in line with their return that they had released the desaparecidos after nine days. But their return begs the question. If the release of the detainees is an established fact and not in dispute, they do not continue to be missing persons or desaparecidos. Where, however, there are grounds for grave doubts about the alleged release of the detainees, where the standard and prescribed procedure in effecting the release has not been followed, then the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence the alleged release is shifted to the respondents. Release is an affirmative defense and "each party must prove his own affirmative allegations," just as the burden of proof of self-defense in a killing rests on the accused. Moreover, evidence of release lies particularly within respondents' power.
2. Diokno claimed that signatures of the detainees on their release papers were falsified. He submitted specimens of Dizon’s signatures and compared it to signatures on documents that respondents themselves submitted. He concluded that they were markedly different from the signatures on their supposed release certificates. With respect to Eduardo Dizon, Diokno noted particularly the very poor line quality of Dizon's signature on the release certificate when compared to the speed and freedom of his signature on his voter's application form.
The Solicitor General, in turn, disputed Diokno's conclusions about the falsity of the detainees' signatures on the release certificates and questions the reliability of the specimen signatures used, adding that "it is not possible to make any comparison of signatures for the purpose of determining genuineness on the basis of xerox copies.”
The Court also noted that the respondents did not follow the prescribed standard procedure for releasing detainees.
1. The respondents did not release the detainees to their parents though the latter had been visiting them and, in fact Dizon's father was in the camp on the very day he was supposedly released.
2. Respondent Carian did not report the supposed releases to the Ministry of Defense or General Eduardo
3. Respondent Carian's command could not readily furnish copies of the detainees' release certificates to their parents when the latter asked for them.
4. Respondent Col. Carian had no authority, inherent or delegated, to release the detainees.
Carian also claimed to release them under the pretext that they would act as spies for the military. He knew that the probability of the detainees' keeping their supposed bargain was remote. Yet, he took no precautions to insure compliance. Worse, when they broke the supposed bargain by failing to report as he says they agreed to, he took no steps to look for them.
3. Court can’t grant petitioners’ relief. Petitioners' charges of falsification of the detainees' alleged signatures on the certificates of release, compounded by the irregularities and failure of respondents to follow the prescribed procedure in effecting the release for purposes of authentication and to produce and furnish the parents upon request copies of the release certificates need thorough investigation.
It is not a trier of facts, nor does it have the means and facilities to conduct such investigation of the grave charges at bar as well as of the whereabouts and fate of the desaparecidos.
More, the 1987 Constitution which was overwhelmingly ratified on February 2,1987 expressly mandated the creation of the Commission on Human Rights. The Constitution vested the Commission on Human Rights with broader powers than its predecessor committee, such as to investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights. Hence the case was referred here.
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