Task Force Detainees of the Philippines

1. Origin of the remedy:

The writ of amparo (which means “protection”) is of Mexican origin. Its present form is found in Articles 103 and 107 of the Mexican Constitution.

Recurso de Amparo is a remedy against acts that violate any of the individual guarantees recognized in the Mexican constitution. It is available in most legal controversies and may be invoked in criminal, civil and administrative trials.

In its country of origin, the recurso de amparo, is of much broader application than what the Philippine Supreme Court has decided to adopt under the present Rule. It is also much broader in scope and application than the writ of habeas corpus, because the  latter is limited to cases of illegal confinement or detention.

The human rights community and civil society groups in the Philippines have a long history of engaging the United Nations (UN) system and developing international advocacy work in order to highlight cases of human rights violations in the country.

During the Marcos regime, human rights groups, particularly the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) was instrumental in gathering the support of the international community in the struggle against the dictatorship. TFDP, on several occasions, presented evidences at the UN to get the Philippines into the 1503 procedure and testimonies at the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal in Antwerp, Belgium in 1980. TFDP also made links and then had cooperative efforts with Amnesty International (AI) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).