Ruel Muñasque, 33, has become the first Filipino to be freed from detention by virtue of a writ of amparo.
The Supreme Court recently introduced the writ of amparo as a new remedy for victims of extra-judicial killings and abductions and other abuses by people in authority.
For a background on the writ of amparo, read the Q&A prepared by the Philippine e-Legal Forum
The full text of the Supreme Court Rules on the Writ of Amparo may be read here, and downloaded here or here.
Judge Abraham Ramas of Pagadian RTC Branch 18 granted his petition for writ of amparo and ordered his release Wednesday (Nov. 8), after spending 14 days in military custody in Zamboanga del Sur,
Muñasque is a Bayan Muna organizer and a leader of Christian Youth Fellowship of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. He was seized by military personnel on Oct. 24, the very day the writ of amparo went into force.