Secretary of National Defense v Manalo, G.R. No. 180906 [Case Digest]

 

Secretary of National Defense v Manalo,

G.R. No. 180906

Facts:

            This case was originally a Petition for Prohibition, Injunction, and (TRO) filed before SC by herein respondents to stop herein petitioners and/or their officers and agents from depriving them of their right to liberty and other basic rights. Herein private respondents had been allegedly abducted and undergone tortured but scape from the military.

 

Issue:

            Whether or not private respondents can invoke the writ of Amparo when they were already free.

 

Held:

            YES. The petition for a writ of Amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.

A closer look at the right to security of person would yield various permutations of the exercise of this right:

§  First, the right to security of person is "freedom from fear."

§  Second, the right to security of person is a guarantee of bodily and psychological integrity or security.

§  Third, the right to security of person is a guarantee of protection of one's rights by the government.