KAPATID Press Release | May 18, 2024
Human rights advocates are urging the Judicial and Bar Council to scrutinize the judicial record of a judge responsible for a series of search warrants against numerous activists which courts have voided due to serious flaws and to reject her promotion to any higher judicial post.
“As a former political prisoner who fell victim to the issuance of questionable search warrants by Judge Cecilyn Burgos Villavert, I cannot stay silent. Between 2018 and 2020, this judge issued numerous questionable search warrants that led to the arrest and filing of trumped-up charges against 76 activists,” said Dennise Velasco in a letter addressed to the Judicial and Bar Council, which he shared on his Facebook page.
“I am appealing for the immediate disqualification of Judge Villavert from being considered for a higher position in the Court of Appeals or Sandiganbayan. We fear she could cause further damage to the justice system and society as a whole,” Velasco emphasized.
A trade union organizer, Velasco was one of seven activists arrested on December 10, 2020, Human Rights Day. He was released 14 months after, on March 8, 2022, when the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 220 granted Velasco’s motion to quash the search warrant due to irregularities and for lack of evidence.
“There is clear evidence that Judge Villavert abused her position to violate the rights of those activists she targeted. The majority of cases based on her issued search warrants were eventually dismissed by regional trial courts and the Court of Appeals,” said Velasco.
In addition, Kapatid pointed out that in a resolution announced this April, the Supreme Court upheld the voiding of Judge Villavert’s search warrant against Reina Mae Nasino and two other activists for failing to precisely specify the location and items to be seized, as mandated by jurisprudence and the Constitution.
“Clearly, Judge Villavert’s tenure on the bench, particularly her issuance of search warrants that are being overturned for grave violations of constitutional rights, raises serious questions about her suitability for a higher role in the judiciary,” Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim added.
“The impact of Judge Villavert’s actions extends far beyond the courtroom, with families torn apart and lives irreparably damaged. Reina Mae Nasino, along with her infant daughter Baby River, is a poignant symbol of the injustices stemming from those poisonous warrants,” Lim noted.
“Many others like my husband Vic Ladlad, Alberto and Virginia Villamor, Renante Gamara and the four remaining HR Day 7 activists Romina Astudillo, Mark Ryan Cruz, Joel Demate, and Jaymie Gregorio continue to suffer in jail due to these spurious warrants that one judge described as the ‘fruits of a poisoned tree,’” said Lim.
“The appointment of judges to high-ranking positions must be guided by a commitment to safeguarding the integrity and independence of the judicial system and protecting the rights of all individuals, regardless of their political beliefs or affiliations. We call on the Judicial and Bar Council to ensure that only the most qualified and ethically sound candidates are appointed to positions of judicial authority,” Lim stressed.
Link to Dennise Velasco’s letter to the JBC: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid069imSACnKGXEfxnDPvHwJVwT6iSRU27Mg1HZf9hxcTBBZn1DM8W8rF4vSxWz8dGBl&id=100083188043043