Moynihan Case

Facts:
Ma. Aurora Moynihan is a 45 year-old British-Filipino citizen, a daughter of Lord Antony Moynihan a British
Aristocrat who was linked to international heroin smuggling as well as prostitution and fraud, and a sister of an
actress Maritoni Fernandez. Ma. Aurora also had a previous relationship with Leandro Antonio Kanahashi who was
known to be a seller of shabu and party drugs.
Last September 10, 2016, around 1:45 a.m, Ma. Aurora was shoot and found dead in the street of Temple
Drive in Barangay Ugong Norte, Quezon City, with her body with multiple gunshots that had caused her death.
Her killers left a cardboard sign leaving a message pusher ng mga celebrities kasunod na kayo. The
witnesses said that they heard series of gun shots then saw a vehicle leaving the area. Unfortunately, they didnt see
the licence plate. A CCTV footage showed that a Toyota Fortuner stopped in the roadside where Ma. Aurora
Moynihan found to be dead. Quezon City Police Districts Guillermo Eleazar assumed that she was shot there by the
time Aurora Moynihan got off the vehicle. Eleazar suspected that the victim might have known the killers. As reported
by the police, four sachets of shabu and other drug paraphernalia were recovered from the personal belongings of
Moynihan.
Quezon City Police District is continuously looking for the motives of killing, considering the fact that Moynihan
was not in the drug watch-list of Quezon City District. However, they have suspected that the killing was connected to
the past case of Ma. Aurora Moynihan. Wilkins Villanueva, chief of the PDEA National Capital Region, confirmed that
Moynihan was arrested along with seven members of the Tinga drug ring when PDEA operatives raided a drug den in
Taguig City in February 2013. However, Moynihan managed to post a bail.
Legal Issue:
Ma. Aurora Moynihan was killed by unknown suspect or vigilant group or drug personalities she allegedly
involved to. The killing was a violation of her human rights. Human right is the inherent, inalienable rights to a man as
a human being and those which he inherit or acquire by title as necessary to his life, liberty, dignity and self-
development
Aurora Moynihans human rights were violated due to the following reasons. Firstly she was killed. Secondly
her dead body was branded with placard accusing her of being a drug pusher. Thirdly, having known that she
possessed drugs and other illegal drug materials she was not arrested but was killed instead.
In the case of Simon Jr. vs. CHR (GR No. 100150, January 5, 1994), The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, or more specifically, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, suggests that the scope of human rights can be understood to include those
that relate to an individuals social, economic, cultural, political and civil relations. It thus seems to closely identify the
term to the universally accepted traits and attributes of an individual, along with what is generally considered to be his
inherent and inalienable rights, encompassing almost all aspects of life. In the case at bar, the following rights that
was denied to the victim was her right to life, liberty, right to defend herself in the court and due process of law.
Article III of the constitution puts it that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law. Life
means more than mere physical existence. It includes the right to live free from social damages against limb or
freedom from justified control. Furthermore, the constitutional protection of the right to life does not only mean
protection to be alive or the protection of limbs against personal harm but also extends to the prohibition against the
deprivation of life to those limbs and facilities necessary for the enjoyment of life. It prohibits the mutilation of the body
by the amputation of an arm of or leg the putting out of an eye or the destruction of any organs of the body.
Liberty means the right of a person to act without any interference without due process of law. Actual physical
constraint constitutes the most flagrant violations of mans personal liberty. It may take the form of illegal arrest,
arbitrary detention, kidnapping involuntary servitude, and killing, all of which are criminal acts punishable by law under
the revised penal code. It should be noted that the ordinary person in most cases has no semblance of the
ramifications and implications of the law. He then becomes perennial victim of abusive police and military authorities,
including unscrupulous persons with dangerous persuasion.
Section I of the of Article III of the constitution expressly requires compliance of due process of law in the
condition of sine qua non before a person maybe deprived of his life, liberty, and property. In the case of Ichong vs.
Hernandez (101 Phil. 1155, No. L-7995 May 31, 1957) it was established the State can deprive persons of life, liberty
or property, provided there is due process of law; and persons may be classified into classes and groups, provided
everyone is given the equal protection of the law. The term due process of law means that law hears before it
condemns which process upon inquiry a renders judgement only after a trial. The important doctrine of procedural law
requires that a person enforce or protect the right. Second, to prevent or redress the wrong. Lastly to recover
damages or injuries inflicted upon him resulting from the commission of a crime, he must be given the opportunity to
present his evidence in support of his claim.
But without the due process of law the criminals still innocent and have the right contest their right and
privilege as we are in a democratic country.
The right of the individuals to defend their selves in the court was being deprived.
Political, economic and social issues faced by the individual or those surrounding the issue:
The president has given permission to the public to kill any drug personalities. People in the society had
created an idea that it is okay to kill. This also created the existence of the vigilante group that were also doing the
killing and putting a placard beside the dead body saying that they were drug addicts. Anyone can be killed innocent
or not.
Politically, this allegedly vigilant group that are killing suspected drug personalities can be related allegedly to
Duterte Death Squad and was being supported by the present administration to make the war-on-drugs more
effective, thats why they still remain unknown or unnamed and because maybe they are protected by the government.
It can also be a possibility that the unknown killings that the police officers cannot trace, was done by the opponents of
the administration to destroy the image of the president using his campaign against illegal drugs or by the big
businessmen who are protecting their image.
The drug of war creates an international naissance but it wont stop from the investor of coming in the country.
The Drug of war has a lot international critics but it has international supporter as well. The present administration
maintain the high GDP of the country, as a whole its good but there still a lot of Filipino who still lives on poverty line,
who are struggling everyday just to survive. The government must not just focus on their war on drugs but they should
also focus on the social basic needs of the people. Economically the war on drugs cant help the Philippines to boost
our economy because it wont create jobs and livelihood to the people.
Socially, this war on drugs creates fear to some individuals who felt that this administration violated the rights of the
individual. The authority even admits that some our citizens are afraid to confess to our authority because there are
some authorities who are still in position who are involved in illegal drugs. The number of people who got killed since
the drug of war started is increasing and number of abusive authority were involved of some killings.
Conclusion:
The war-on-drugs and the administration of Duterte had created new norms that killing in connection to the
illegal drugs is acceptable. However, some were killed without due process of law and not even proven guilty in the
court. The existence of the killings brought by the vigilante group added to the burden of the police authority. There
were individuals killed not due to the police operations but because of this allegedly vigilante groups who put placards
beside the dead body. This weakens the legal and judicial system of the country and the idea of the due process is
being set aside. The safety of everyone can be at risk