CONVICTED Imelda Marcos explains to the Sandiganbayan on Nov. 16, 2018, that she could not attend the promulgation of its ruling convicting her of seven counts of graft a week earlier as she attended her daughter Imee’s birthday party. She was allowed bail while appealing the decision in the Supreme Court. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The organization Kapatid has raised concerns about the high bail amounts for activists Reina Mae Nasino, Alma Moran, and Ram Carlo Bautista compared to the bail amount for former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was convicted of bribery and corruption.
Kapatid, a support network for friends and families of political prisoners, raised that Nasino and Moran each have to pay P420,000 worth of bail while Bautista faces a P570,000 bail. The three activists combined collectively must pay a bail worth P1,410,000.
“The bail bond for each of them becomes patently unequal and grossly unjust when compared to the bail amount of 150,000 pesos that Imelda Marcos was allowed to post by the Sandiganbayan in November 2018 despite being found guilty of stealing 10.5 billion pesos of public funds through Swiss foundations when she was governor of metropolitan Manila during martial law,” said Kapatid Spokesperson Fides Lim.
READ: Court grants petition for bail of Reina Mae Nasino, other political prisoners
Lim appealed to the court on behalf of the activist’s family to reduce the bail amount, as it was not within the family’s capacity to pay it.
“We pray that Judge Paulino Gallegos will find it in his heart to reduce their bail to a reasonable and fair amount especially considering that their case is baseless and awaiting final dismissal. Bring them home before Christmas,” appealed Lim.
The group believes this to be another form of injustice for the activists, saying that the cases should have already been dropped.
“While Reina Mae, Alma, and Ram were made to suffer three years in jail, and Reina Mae lost her baby because of a trumped-up case, Imelda Marcos never spent a second in jail to serve her minimum sentence of 42 years for seven counts of graft and corruption,” stated Lim.
Nasino was one month pregnant when she was arrested for possessing firearms and explosives in 2019. After giving birth to her baby River, the mother and child only had limited contact, and the newborn eventually died.
River’s death triggered public outcry and controversy, with groups calling for better care for imprisoned mothers and the release of the three activists.