Bayanihan Media Awards National Winner

Civic group alliance files petition to Supreme Court to stop mandatory vaccinations

An alliance from various Civic Groups including Covid Call To Humanity (CCH), Concerned Doctors And Citizens Of The Philippines (CDCPh), Legal Lightworkers For Life And Liberty (L4), And Juan Dakila (JD) Movement filed a Petition for Certiorari, Prohibition, and Mandamus with the urgent application for Writ of Preliminary Injunction and/or Temporary Restraining Order at the Supreme Court of the Philippines on May 12, 2022.

The Petition is asking the Supreme Court to declare the Covid-related policy regulatory issuances, including IATF’s Resolution 148-B on mandatory vaccinations, null and void for being unconstitutional and violative of Philippine and international law. The Petition is over 150 pages long and supported by more than 1,000 pages worth of Annexes. 

The group of 15 petitioners includes a COVID-19 vaccine-injured employee, doctors, scientists, a lawyer, religious leaders, government and private sector employees, and public school teachers. 

“We hope that the Supreme Court will be open and take judicial notice of the massive amount of legal evidence against mandatory vaccinations that we have presented. If the people feel that the government leaders have failed them, they should still be able to rely on the courts to uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights”, stated Atty. Aaron Soguilon, convenor of Juan Dakila movement and a member of the legal team. 

Although not part of the Petition, Perlas noted: “COVID-19 vaccine mandates are taking place at a time when corruption in many sectors – in health care, mass media, scientific reporting, and election of democratic leaders, among others – is occurring in many places around the world. This is making it difficult for honest and truthful decisions to be made regarding a medical intervention that would affect billions of lives. We need to save people’s lives and rebuild society through honesty, integrity, a strong sense of justice, and respect for human rights and the Constitution.”

The Lead Counsel for the 11-person legal team is Atty. Pacifico Agabin, former Dean of the UP College of Law and one of the country’s leading experts in Constitutional Law and the Bill of Rights.  Atty. Tanya Lat coordinated the work of the legal team. 

The Respondents of the case include the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año, DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones, and Makati City represented by Mayor Mar-Len Abigail Binay. 

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest