'Infirmities' doom petition vs 'profiling' of ACT members
MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals junked a petition by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers to put a halt to what the teachers' union said is police “profiling” of their members.
The CA’s Eleventh Division on February 4 junked the petition for prohibition with a prayer for temporary restraining order filed by ACT “because it contains...infirmities.”
On January 17, ACT asked the appellate court to strike down the PNP’s memorandum to "inventory" members of the teachers' union as unconstitutional as it violates their right to freedom of association and the Data Privacy Act.
But the appellate court pointed out that the petition did not include certified true copies of the assailed police memoranda and pertinent dates of the said police-issued documents.
The above mentioned infirmities are a violation of the Rules of Court, the CA said.
The petitioners cited a memorandum from the Antipolo City Police Station with a subject “Inventory of all public and private school teachers who are members of or aligned with [ACT].”
The memorandum directs police to get the names, schoold and addresses of ACT members.
A similar memorandum was also signed by the Manila Police District Chief Intelligence Branch.
The court also said that ACT’s petition failed to indicate the Integrated Bar of the Philippines number of the petitioners’ counsel and issuance of the professional tax number of their legal counsels.
Both are violations of Bar Matter, the CA pointed out.
The group was represented by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.
The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Nina Antonio-Valenzuela. Concurring were Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Perpetua Atal-Paño.
Petitioners can file a motion for reconsideration on the junking of their plea.
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