76-year old Gabriela coordinator arrested in Agusan Del Norte
Photo from Gabriela’s Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Gabriela has condemned the arrest of the party’s Caraga regional coordinator Atel Hijos.
According to their statement on Friday, agents from the Regional Intelligence Division 13 illegally arrested the 76-year-old Hijos in Nasipit, Agusan Del Norte on August 30, under charges of murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.
“Sa ilang dekadang pagkilos ni Atel Hijos sa Mindanao, maituturing siyang haligi ng kilusang kababaihan sa Mindanao na kilala sa pag-oorganisa ng mga komunidad na nakakaranas ng matinding karahasan at pang-aabuso,” Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas said in a statement.
(In her decades of working in Mindanao, she is like a pillar of the women’s movement in the area, known for organizing a community that has experienced violence and abuse).
Gabriela told INQUIRER.net on Friday that they are still clarifying where Hijos is being detained. Despite this, they affirmed their support for Hijos.
“Sa kabila nito, patuloy kaming mananawagan sa pagpapalaya kay Atel Hijos, at iba pang kababaihan na biktima ng pagtugis ng gobyerno sa mga progresibong indibidwal,” stated Brosas.
(Despite this, we will continue to call upon the release of Atel Hijos and other women who are victims of the government’s hunt for progressive individuals).
The progressive women’s rights group has called it part of the “disturbing trends of attacks against women activists under Marcos Jr.’s administration,” asserting that it echoed Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s Martial Law.
“Sa September 21 ang ika-50 anibersaryo ng deklarasyon ng Martial Law, at ramdam na ramdam ng kababaihan ang hagupit ng karahasan at matinding panggigipit sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang administrasyon ng anak mismo ng dating diktador,” Brosas said.
(September 21 will be the 5th anniversary of Martial Law’s declaration, and women can feel the current administration’s horror, violence, and oppression under the son of a former dictator).
