ORIGIN & HISTORY:

WRITS OF
AMPARO &
HABEAS
DATA

JUDICIAL REMEDIES AVAILABLE in

the PHILIPPINES
* adopted thru
AM No. 07-912-SC on
October 24,
2007
* The word
amparo comes
from the
Spanish word
amparar
which
literally
Adopted
thru
means
AM No. to
08-1protect.
16-SC
on
February 2,
2008
Habeas data
literally means
you should
have the data

WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS
(year 1901)

WRIT OF
AMPARO
(year 2007)

WRIT OF
HABEAS DATA
(year 2008)

Started in 1901
in the
Philippines
Roughly
translated, You
should have the
body
It originated in
the Middle Ages
in England
Historically,
Philippine
Habeas Corpus
(from 1901 until
the present)
miserably failed
to produce
efficacious legal
remedy for
victims of

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

Manuel Crescendo Rejon
known to have drafted the
first Writ of Amparo
Journalist, Mexican lawyer
& Politician
Mexico was a colony of
Spain and when it was
liberated from the Spanish
authorities resulted to
Mexicos Independence
A Senator of the State of
Yucatan

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

Manuel Crescendo Rejon
attacks and strongly criticizes
Agustn de Iturbide (a
Mexican army general and
politician) who proclaimed
himself emperor of Mexico, so
when Iturbide dissolved
Congress, Rejon became one
among the jailed senators.
When Iturbide resigned and was
put into exile, Congress raised
the question of a new
constitution.
This was when REJON wrote the
amparo in his State of Yucatan

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

"The term Amparo was
first used in the
Constitution of Yucatn,
developed by Manuel Rejon
in (1841), which was
established as a power of
the people to protect
the enjoyment of their
rights violated by laws
or acts of government
authorities.

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

The writ of amparo was
later incorporated in
Mexicos Federal
Constitution in 1857.
Today, Yucatn is the safest
state in Mexico
Amparo, spread
throughout the Western
Hemisphere where it has
gradually evolved into
various forms, depending
on the particular needs of
each country.

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

Starting as a protective writ against acts or omissions
of public authorities in violation of constitutional rights,
it later on blossomed as a remedial tool having several
purposes:
(1) For the protection of personal freedom, equivalent
to the habeas corpus writ (called amparo libertad);
(2) For the judicial review of the constitutionality of
statutes (called amparo contra leyes);
(3) For the judicial review of the Constitutionality and
legality of a judicial decision (called amparo casacion);
(4) For the judicial review of administrative actions
(called amparo administrativo); and
(5) For the protection of peasants rights derived from
the agrarian reform process (called amparo agrario).

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

AFTER MEXICO (1857):
-El Salvador (1886)
-Honduras (1894)
-Nicaragua (1911)
-Guatemala (1921)
-Panama (1941)
-Costa Rica (1941)
-Argentina in the
Constitution of the
Province of Santa Fe
(1921)
-Venezuela (1967)
It spread to other parts of
the world:
-INDIA (1965)

WRIT OF AMPAROs ORIGIN

Inter-American Declaration of Human
Rights:
Art. XVIII. Every person may resort to the
courts to ensure respect for his legal rights.
There should be likewise available to him a
simple, brief procedure whereby the courts will
protect (Amparo in Spanish) him from acts of
authority that, to his prejudice , violate any
fundamental
constitutional
Universal Declaration
ofrights.
Human Rights:

Art. VIII. Everyone has the right to an

effective remedy by the competent national
tribunals for acts violating the fundamental
rights granted him by the Constitution or by

The
Philippines
WRIT OF
AMPARO

PRIME MOVER OF WRIT OF AMPARO:

PUNO COURT

JUSTICE
ADOLFO AZCUNA

CHIEF JUSTICE
REYNATO PUNO

Father of Amparo
Justice Adolfo Azcuna
He introduced the
Writ of Amparo in
Bar Exam 1991
(Political law)
A delegate of the
1971 Constitutional
Convention and
1986 Constitutional
Commission

1986 CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMISSION

Philippines WRIT OF
AMPARO

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTO

CONCEPCION

The 1987
Constitution
enhanced the
protection of human
rights by giving the
Supreme Court the
power to
[p]romulgate
rules concerning
the protection and
enforcement of
constitutional
rights... (ARTICLE
VIII, SECTION 5(5)
CONSTITUTION)

Philippines WRIT OF
AMPARO

CHIEF JUSTICE
ROBERTO
CONCEPCION
JUSTICE
ADOLFO
AZCUNA

This rule-making
power (ARTICLE
VIII, SECTION 5(5)
CONSTITUTION)
unique to the
present
Constitution, is the
result of our
experience under
the dark years of
the martial law
regime.

What is the Philippine version

of Amparo?
Broader than the Mexican Amparo
SECTION 1. Petition. 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.
The writ shall cover extralegal killings

and enforced disappearances or

threats thereof.

WRIT OF HABEAS DATAS

ORIGIN
to have the data

WRIT OF HABEAS DATAS

ORIGIN

It has the shortest history.

The roots of the writ of
habeas data can be traced to
certain European legal
mechanisms:

German Constitutional
Tribunal
Council of Europes
108th Convention on
Data Protection of
1981.

WRIT OF HABEAS DATAS

ORIGIN
The scope and concept
of this writ vary from country

to country; but in general, it is designed to

protect by means of an individual complaint
presented to a constitutional court the image,
privacy, honor, information self-determination
and freedom of information of a person.

Latin American countries:

Brazil (1988)
Colombia (1991)
Paraguay (1992)
Peru (1993)
Argentina (1994)
Ecuador (1996)

WRIT OF HABEAS DATAS

ORIGIN
The
Argentine version, is more
comprehensive than other Latin
American models.

Any person may file this action

(referring to the writ of habeas data) to
obtain information on the data about
himself and their purpose, registered in
public records or data bases, or in
private ones intended to supply
information; and in case of false data or
discrimination, this action may be filed
to request the suppression,
rectification, confidentiality or updating
of said data. The secret nature of the
sources of journalistic information shall
not be impaired.

Philippines version of
WRIT OF HABEAS DATA
SEC. 10. Return; Contents.
The respondent shall file a
verified written return The
return shall, among other things,
contain the following:
(b) In case of respondent in
charge, in possession or in
control of the data or
information subject of the
petition;
(i) a disclosure of the data or
information about the
petitioner, the nature of such
data or information, and the
purpose for its collection;
(ii) the steps or actions
taken by the respondent to
ensure the security and
confidentiality of the data or
information; and,

Sec. 16. Judgement

If the allegations in
the petition are proven
substantial, the court
shall enjoin the act
complained of, or
order the deletion,
destruction or
rectification of the
erroneous data or
information and
grant other reliefs as
may be just and

WRIT OF
HABEAS
DATA

WRIT OF
AMPARO

They
COMPLEME
NT!

Writ of Habeas Data = Writ of Amparo.

It complements the Writ of

Amparo.
According to Chief Justice
Reynato Puno, the writ of
habeas data complements
the writ of amparo by
helping produce or correct
data that is relevant to
protect the rights of a
person who disappeared or
is the victim of an
extrajudicial killing.

Hindi ako mukhang mataray,

pero kaya ko ring maging
mataray kung kailangan

Supreme