Sison raises refugee status vs subpoena in DOJ 'terrorist' petition

MANILA, Philippines — Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison called a Manila court’s summons over the government’s bid to declare the CPP and New People's Army as terrorist group futile as he stressed his refugee status in the Netherlands.

Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, in a resolution dated February 1, named Sison and Antonio Cabanatan, said to be secretary of the Mindanao commission, as parties to the government’s petition due to their “unassailable link” to the CPP-NPA. 

In the same ruling, the court stressed that Sison and Cabanatan are not respondents in the case, but were named as parties and indentified only because it is "necessary for the court to ensure proper service of summons and acquire jurisdicition over the petition and respondents (the CPP-NPA)."

'Recognized political refugee'

Sison, in a statement, slammed the summons as he stressed that he is a recognized political refugee in Netherlands and is “protected by the Refugee Convention...which prohibits my deportation to the Philippines.”

He also said that the summons is a “blatantly cheap maneuver of the tyrannical Duterte regime which has become notorious for committing gross and systematic human rights violations for the purpose of terrorizing people.”

DOJ scores initial victory in bid to pursure terrorism cases vs CPP-NPA as Manila RTC declares CPP founding chair Joma Sison as party in the proscription case. | @edupunay pic.twitter.com/UKBjLnzRrS

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) February 12, 2019

Part of the ruling read: “The court reiterates its earlier pronouncement, that its interest in ensuring that the petitioner identifies only those with unassailable links to the respondent-organizations is not because these parties are considered respondents to the petition but only because their undisputed link to the CPP-NPA is necessary for the court to ensure proper service of summons and acquire jurisdicition over the petition and respondents.”

DOJ amends original petition

The DOJ initially wanted more than 600 individuals declared as terrorists, but the Manila court dropped United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and three others from the “terror list.”

Following this, state prosecutors drastically cut down their list to just eight names.

The court, in looking into the plea to amend the DOJ's petition, only included Sison and Cabanatan as parties to the case, saying that the two have “undisputed links” to the CPP-NPA.

In the ruling, the court said that the subpoena to respondent-organizations can only be made through Sison and Cabanatan and as Cabanatan has unknown addresses and Sison is a resident abroad, a service of summons by publication would be made. — Kristine Joy Patag