Political prisoners to be freed in batches

The Duterte administration will work for the release of more than 400 political prisoners within a “reasonable time” before the signing of a joint, permanent ceasefire agreement between the government and communist rebels, according to the government peace panel chair, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

The detainees are expected to be released in batches, depending on their situation, he said.

Some of them were already convicted and could be released upon President Duterte’s orders, while some were still undergoing trial and would need court orders to attain their freedom, Bello said.

“While the optimum result would be to have them all out all together, we have to understand the processes through which we have to obtain their releases. Our President has a commitment and we will obtain their release within a reasonable time,” Bello said in an Inquirer Live interview.

“What’s important here is that we have shown the [National Democratic Front of the Philippines] that we have the sincerity in addressing their concern about the remaining 400 plus [detainees],” he added.

The first batch of political detainees released were those deemed consultants in the peace talks held in Oslo, Norway.

Bello said the next batch of political prisoners whom the government would seek to free were the women, the sickly and the elderly.

He also said that for the government, the joint, permanent ceasefire and the release of political prisoners were two separate issues.

“The releases, we will do it separate from the issue of the ceasefire. Even if we have not yet signed anything, we will continue to work for the releases,” he said.

He said the release of political prisoners was not a precondition of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) for it to agree to a joint, permanent ceasefire declaration with the government.

But it is considered a confidence-building measure for them to upgrade their unilateral, indefinite ceasefire declaration, he said.

Both the government and NDFP declared unilateral, indefinite ceasefires by the end of their first round of peace talks in August, and had agreed to work for a joint, permanent ceasefire within 60 days.

The 60-day deadline would have been next week, but Bello said the government panel requested that signing of a joint ceasefire declaration be moved to the last week of November or the first week of December for two reasons.

One is that he and the peace process adviser, Jesus Dureza, would be in Japan next week to join Mr. Duterte’s official visit there.

The other reason is that the government needs more time to address the communist rebels’ concerns about the political detainees, he said.

RELATED STORIES

Free all political prisoners? ‘In reasonable time,’ says Bello

No amnesty for political prisoners until end of talks–Lorenzana