Militant groups called on Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa not to commit the same mistake as that of former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who sat on cases of political prisoners.
“Will he [Caguioa] follow Secretary de Lima’s inaction? He should correct the mistakes of the previous DOJ (Department of Justice) leadership,” Nicolette Gamara, Hustisya spokesperson said Thursday during a protest rally at the DOJ.
Gamara’s father, Renante Gamara, is a union organizer and peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) who has been detained for the last three years on charges of kidnapping and murder while her mother was forced into hiding after she was accused of involvement on multiple murders.
Aside from Gamara, members of Gabriela and the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) also appeared before the DOJ to call for the release of political prisoners.
Militant groups also denounced the special treatment to prominent detainees such as Jovito Palparan, former President and Pampanga lawmaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
“They [the government] even deny the existence of political prisoners,” Gamara said adding that the government tries to hide the political prisoners by filing trumped up criminal charges against them.
Two years ago, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda declared that the Philippines has no political prisoners.
However, records from human rights groups showed that as of November 2014, there are 491 political prisoners, 220 of them were arrested under the Aquino administration.
Last September, the Mauban, Quezon Court dismissed the criminal information filed against Andrea Rosal, daughter of the late New People’s Army Spokesman Ka Roger Rosal for lack of evidence.
READ: Andrea Rosal regained her freedom at great cost
Rosal, who was seven months pregnant in 2014, was arrested by authorities. She lost her child in detention.
Then, a month later, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court ordered the immediate release of NDFP Consultant Eduardo Serrano after the government “miserably failed” to prove he was the accused responsible for the ambush of members of the Philippine Army early 2000.
READ: QC court acquits ‘Red-tagged’ man jailed since 2004
The court said Serrano was illegally arrested, his name was inserted in the commitment order, inserted his name as one of the aliases of accused Villanueva and was charged without the benefit of preliminary investigation.
The court said what authorities did to Serrano “is an outright mockery of the basic human rights on due process of law which is enshrined in our Constitution.”
The court also reminded the law enforcers and other government authorities to ensure that their enthusiasm will not deprive any person’s right to liberty.
“The good performance of the government is compromised sans any fault on its part by the impunity committed by its workforce. Every precaution should be taken against its repetition. Otherwise the parties responsible for this state of affairs would justly lay themselves open to the accusation that the greatest danger to constitutional right comes from public officials, men of zeal, concededly well-meaning but without sufficient understanding of the implication of the rule of law,” the court said. RAM
PHOTO by TETCH TORRES-TUPAS/INQUIRER.net
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