A Manila court upheld its July 20 ruling to separate political prisoner Reina Mae Nasino and her infant daughter.
Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 20 denied Nasino’s motion for reconsideration to have her newborn baby stay with her until the infant turns a year old.
In the two-page order dated July 30, Umali cited the comment of the Manila City Jail warden that “a prison is not a place for a baby to stay especially now that the country is faced with [a] pandemic brought about by the [coronavirus disease].”
Kapatid, a support group for families of political prisoners, slammed the ruling, saying that separating the mother from her child during a pandemic was “inhumane.”
Manila police arrested Nasino, along with Ram Bautista and Alma Moran, in November 2019 during a crackdown on activists. —NIKKA G. VALENZUELA