MANILA, Philippines—Relatives of the so-called Abadilla 5 picketed the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice on Friday to renew their call for the commutation of the sentences of their loved ones, who were sent to life in prison after being convicted of the 1996 murder of a police colonel.
Melanie de Jesus, Marilou Lumanog, Cheche de Jesus, Elma Fortuna and Lolita San Felipe distributed copies of their letter to President Aquino, dated March 23, asking for the commutation of the sentences of the five prisoners, who, they maintained, were innocent of the killing of Col. Rolando Abadilla.
“Your Excellency,” the relatives wrote the President, “give them back their freedom and let them live the remaining years of their life with us, their family and friends who have not abandoned them. After all the sufferings and pain that we have endured, please do not make us beg for that freedom. Leave us with our dignity, which no government could take from us. Give us justice.”
The women wore black shirts and covered their heads with black veils as they carried large pictures of the prisoners, Joel de Jesus, Rameses de Jesus, Cesar Fortuna, Lenido Lumanog, and Augusto Santos.
Fr. Robert Reyes, spiritual adviser of the Abadilla 5 and their families, offered a short prayer. He said he hoped the President would free the five by Easter.
The Abadilla 5 have been in prison for 16 years. “It has been a long Calvary and [we hope] it is about to end,” Reyes said later in an interview.
“All it takes is the President’s signature,” he said. “Just one signature, which won’t even take three seconds, to set them free.”
Marilou Lumanog, wife of Lenido Lumanog, noted that as early as September last year, the Board of Pardons and Paroles headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima recommended to President Aquino the commutation of the life sentences of the five convicts to just 16 years, which they have already served.
Should the President approve the recommendation, the five would be immediately freed from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Marilou Lumanog said she wanted her husband to be with her, as he was suffering from a chronic kidney ailment. “My husband’s life is ticking away. Set him free, Mr. President,” she said.
Reyes said he disagreed with the President’s critics who claimed Mr. Aquino was “noynoying,” a word coined to portray him as a do-nothing leader.
“I don’t agree with militants [who say] he is ‘noynoying’—there is no such word,” Reyes said. “But if the President still sits on the Abadilla 5 issue, I’ll [agree with them].”