Grandma’s plea to SC justices: Act on daughter, 1 week-old grandchild’s release from jail

MANILA, Philippines – Blue is the color of the sky that symbolizes freedom and blue is also nature’s color for water that gives life – and this is the color of the ribbons tied to the gate of the Supreme Court as a mother of a political detainee calls for the release of her daughter and newborn granddaughter who are currently at the Manila City Jail.

Reina Mae Nasino who was arrested in November last year gave birth to a baby girl named “River.”

Nasino’s mother, Marites, who went to the Supreme Court Tuesday, said the hospital has allowed her daughter and her grandchild at the hospital.

However, 48 hours after she gave birth, the mother and baby were whisked away to the Manila City Jail.

Manila City Jail Warden Chief Inspector Ignacia Monteron assured that Nasino and the baby are taken care of as they were placed in an enclosed room with marine plywood with the ceiling and a stand fan.

The warden also said that the MCJ is COVID-free.

But Marites is worried that with the congestion inside the detention facility, her daughter and her underweight and jaundiced grandchild are highly at risk.

“I am begging you please rule in favor of their release from detention. My daughter and grandchild are at risk of getting COVID-19 inside the crowded jail,” Marites said in Tagalog.

Nasino and 22 other high-risk inmates mostly elderly with medical conditions called on the Supreme Court to allow their temporary release on bail or on recognizance citing the continuous spread of the virus especially in congested jail facilities.

The petition has been pending with the Supreme Court for three months. Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta last month said the case was stalled because the justice-in-charge was stranded in the Visayas.

He assured that the case will be able to finish it soon with the easing of quarantine protocols and the justice can return to Manila.

However, as of Tuesday, still no information about the status of the case. [ac]

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