Dili, 21 April 2026 (Media Democracia) – The Timor-Leste University Students (EUTL) held a press conference to continue demanding the Court intervene or reject PDHJ’s complaint, the press conference was held at the UNTL central campus on Monday this week (20/04/20206).
Spokesperson Natalicio Nunes said that through this press conference, EUTL wants to inform the public regarding the complaint that PDHJ itself filed with the Court of Appeal requesting a declaration of nullity, stating that the agreement or revolution of the Lifetime Monthly Pension Law is invalid and seeks to have no effect from this action, EUTL concludes or suspects that Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice Ombudsman (PDHJ).
“Through Ombudsman Mr. Virgilho da Silva Guterres ‘Lamukan’, it seems the Ombudsman himself has some family members who are direct and active beneficiaries of the Lifetime Monthly Pension Law, on the other hand, perhaps they made promises to each other or the beneficiaries promised him payment, which is why he keeps pursuing the Lifetime Monthly Pension Law, this is a law that all the people no longer want to exist, but PDHJ continues to ask the Court to declare the agreement invalid because, as we all know, on March 26 the Court already issued a decision declaring that the re-enactment of the Lifetime Monthly Pension Law is constitutional or violates the Constitution.” said Natalizio Nunes at the UNTL Central Campus.
The spokesperson added that after the agreement was declared on April 9, PDHJ, through the Human Rights Ombudsman himself, Mr. Virgilho, responded to the complaint at the Court of Appeal asking that the Court must declare nullity, meaning the agreement has no effect or does not produce effect, so the agreement is invalid. If the Court of Appeal declares nullity, it will directly impact the re-enactment of the Lifetime Monthly Pension Law, and there is a strong possibility that Parliament and the Government will continue to create conditions and regrant the rights to the former beneficiaries.
“That is why today we want to make it public that PDHJ, as an independent institution established in our Constitution with its role to defend human rights and to uphold good governance, now PDHJ talks about defending human rights, but the money, which is state money, the people’s money, only flows to one or two groups and PDHJ continues to defend it. So the question for PDHJ is what model of defending human rights is this? Why isn’t this money allocated to productive sectors, to schools, and other areas. This is what EUTL considers a human rights violation in our country today. PDHJ should actually be defending this, thiis money must be stopped. The Lifetime Monthly Pension Law must be stopped so that this money can be allocated to everyone, because Timor’s wealth underground and above ground must be used for the national interest, PDHJ should actually defend this, because this is a human rights violation, the state is not organizing its capacity to meet citizens’ needs, PDHJ talks about good governance, Now we see reports from the World Bank saying that in five more years our money will be gone. So how is PDHJ going to defend good governance, and with what model. Because of this, EUTL and the people think this is not right.” said the EUTL spokesperson.
Through this press conference, EUTL wants to ask PDHJ not to do this again in the future, because after this complaint has been filed, they want to ask the Court to reject or intervene in PDHJ’s complaint. If the Court does not declare what the people and EUTL want, they will take action against the Court, and when that action happens, whatever occurs must be accepted.
At the same event, Bonifacio Abi presented the text, stating that due to political pressure from the Maubere people through EUTL as an academic instrument, the National Parliament presented Draft Law No. 11, which was presented in the PN plenary and passed unanimously, with 62 votes in favor, zero abstentions and zero against. The content of this draft is to revoke or totally abolish, without extension, the lifetime pension for former deputies and former holders of Sovereign Body positions. Finally, the President of the Republic has promulgated this new law to totally abolish the lifetime monthly pension and other privilege rights, and it has been published in the Jornal da República through Law No. 7/2025, 29 September.
“After the President of the Republic promulgated it, former beneficiaries immediately emerged, composed of former deputies, former government members, and other former holders of sovereign body positions, totaling thirty, something, conspiring, twisting words, and manipulating together with the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ) to request successive abstract review by the Court of Appeal to declare unconstitutional the law that abolished the lifetime monthly pension and other privilege rights. However, with the Court of Appeal’s conscience that is pro-Maubere people, recognizing the popular struggle and understanding very well the complexity of the problem or fiscal burden that the Maubere people are currently facing. And according to the RDTL Constitution in conformity with Article 118, which shows that ‘The courts are sovereign bodies with competence to administer justice in the name of the people, with this epigraph, it tells us that the court truly exercises justice based on the people’s interest in the objective reality that the people face, specifically the repeal of the LPMV. Thus, in the end, the Court of Appeal declared through its ruling that the repeal of the LPMV is constitutional, with its grounds based on the Constitution, as well as with social, economic, and political approaches that the small and powerless people are currently facing. The Court of Appeal’s approach is like this because, from the perspective of the sociology of law, we see that society lives dynamically from social, economic, political, and cultural aspects, so the law must also be dynamic. If the law is not dynamic, then the law itself will colonize its own society.” said Bonifacio Abi
He further emphasized that PDHJ’s role is to defend good governance, human rights, and justice for the majority of the people, not the elite minority. The objective of the state, as established in the RDTL Constitution, is a social state for its body and soul, not to build a society for the elite minority. EUTL also asks the Court of Appeal, which also performs the function of the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) in Timor-Leste under Article 164, No. 2 of the RDTL Constitution, to maintain the ruling previously issued. They also want to ask the sovereign bodies such as the President of the Republic, National Parliament, and Government that the Court of Appeal’s ruling is a legal appeal to you that the three sovereign bodies mentioned above must respond with significant public policies that are pro-Maubere people through investment in vital sectors such as education, agriculture, tourism, health, basic infrastructure, and others that are directly related to the well-being of the Maubere people.
Report By: Trainees Jualiana and Baquita
Photo By: Trainee Baquita