Palace wants formal requests filed on political prisoners’ amnesty plea

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang wants over 300 prisoners, who said they were jailed for their political beliefs, to file formal requests for amnesty.

The more than 300 prisoners said the police deliberately filed charges of common crimes against them due to their political beliefs.

The prisoners, including poet Ericson Acosta, are now in the middle of a hunger strike in a bid to draw the government and the public’s attention to their plight.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, nonetheless, said those cases already filed in court would be left to the respective tribunals.

“Let me ask (Justice) Secretary Leila de Lima because I understand that these are cases already filed in court, if I’m not mistaken. And so normally, we would leave it with the courts to decide on that point but let me ask Secretary Leila de Lima if there’s any request for amnesty that has been filed by the 300 detainees,” Lacierda said in a news briefing on Thursday afternoon.

Asked whether the government would at least look into their request, Lacierda said, “Well, if there is one. We have not seen any request yet… The only thing I’ve heard is the report in the (Philippine Daily) Inquirer but let me check first if a request, a formal request has been made before the Secretary of Justice.”