Local court frees poet-activist Ericson Acosta

ERICSON Acosta. DENNIS LONGID/FILE PHOTO

CALBAYOG, Samar, PHILIPPINES—The Calbayog Regional Trial Court of Samar province issued on Tuesday the release order of poet-activist and cultural worker Ericson Acosta, said a report by Erwin Aguilon of Radyo Inquirer 990AM Tuesday.

The one-page motion of Calbayog RTC Branch 41 Judge Feliciano Aguilar ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to release Acosta, said the report.

The report added the release order was aligned with the motion of the Department of Justice to junk the case of illegal possession of explosives against Acosta because it lacked clear evidence.

The report said a team from Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) headed by PAO chief, lawyer Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, went to the National Kidney Transplant Institute, Quezon City Tuesday to fetch Acosta.

The 40-year-old political prisoner underwent an examination on his kidney problem after the Calbayog RTC gave the permission.

In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, Acosta said he is in high spirits “as I return to the ranks of cultural workers and mass activists for national democracy.”

He said his incarceration made him realize the “grim conditions in prison, and the dismal state of our justice system.”

He called on for unity and action to improve the justice system, end impunity and focus on human rights.

“We are in a better position to push for the release of all political prisoners. Reflecting on my own experience, a crucial component of this campaign is our call to end the criminalization of political dissent, illegal arrest and torture,” he said.

He thanked the individuals and organizations that helped in his release. Besides PAO, he thanked the

National Union of People’s Lawyers, the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign, the doctors and staff of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Amnesty International, PEN International and Philippine PEN among others.

Acosta was arrested by members of the 34th Infantry Battalion (34IB) in Bay-ang, San Jorge, Samar, for illegal possession of a grenade on February 13, 2011. John Daryl Dimalanta