Karapatan slams PNP over political prisoners’ visit

PNP. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Members of human rights group Karapatan have denounced the Philippine National Police after they were barred from visiting four political prisoners at the police custodial center in Camp Crame last Sunday.

Aside from Karapatan chairpserson Marie Hilao Enriquez, the PNP also did not allow the rights group’s secretary general, Cristina Palabay, and Defend Job Philippines project officer Ivy Joy Valencia to visit National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants Eduardo Sarmiento, Eduardo Serrano and Renante Gamara and another political prisoner Ramon Argente last Sunday.

The visit was supposed to be part of Karapatan National Capital Region’s yearly solidarity Paskuhan with the political prisoners. Palabay said Hilao-Enriquez’s name was removed from the list while she  and Valencia were disallowed, according to the PNP, citing their derogatory record.

“This was done despite no stated basis on the allegations of the derogatory records and inspite of the fact that Hilao-Enriquez is an appointed independent observer in the GPH-NDFP peace negotiations,” Palabay said in a statement.