MANILA, Philippines—A lawyer of the Morong 43 was to meet with a Department of Justice prosecutor at a suburban Manila police camp Tuesday to work out the possible release of at least two health workers still detained at the Metro Manila District Jail in Bicutan, Taguig City, on charges other than illegal possession of firearms which the government dropped recently.
Lawyer Edre Olalia said he was scheduled to meet with the prosecutor and show proof of the identification of Antonio de Dios and Aldrin Garcia, two of the five men still in detention because they allegedly have pending cases in different courts.
In the case of De Dios, the warrant of arrest issued by a court against him "hasn't been considered served" in the ten months of his detention, therefore the lawyer was insisting he should not be held "a minute longer."
He cited the Morong court's order to release the detainees unless there were other charges against them pending in the courts.
"Some of their other cases had already been archived as far back as 1999," he told reporters outside the jail.
He added that it might take some more time for the others to be freed since their legal team would be scouring court records to prove that there are no other pending cases against them.
By Miko Morelos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Members of the so-called "Morong 43" said Friday they intend to resume their jobs as health workers among poor communities after spending the holidays with their families, even if it means being under the watchful eye of the military, which insists they are communist rebels.
Teresa Quinawayan, a midwife who used to work in urban poor areas in Metro Manila, said she was “excited” to go back to work.
“We are excited to go back to our communities. You can expect us to work, even if there are threats to our lives from the military,” she said at a press conference after they were released.
Quinawayan and 22 other female detainees emerged from the gates of Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, where they were detained for the past 10 months, at about 11 p.m. Friday. The 23 females and 15 males, who claimed to be community-based health workers, were arrested by the military on February 6.
The 43 health workers, who were apprehended in Morong, Rizal, were accused of being members of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. At the time of the arrest, their apprehenders claimed they were learning how to make bombs in a Morong resort.
The detainees denied being NPA members, saying they were attending a seminar on first medical response.
They were charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives in Morong courts, allegations that the detainees deny.
The group was freed Friday night, a week after President Aquino ordered the Justice Department to withdraw the charges against them.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was the chief of the Commission on Human Rights when the 43 were arrested, had said the warrant issued against them was defective.
In a statement on Saturday, the detainees thanked President Aquino for ordering their release and De Lima for being steadfast in her conviction that their arrest was illegal.
The group also expressed gratitude to their supporters here and abroad for sustaining the clamor for their release.
“I hope this is a sign that the President will walk the straight path and that he will show to us that his boss is the people,” said Merry Mia Clamor, a doctor.
The female detainees were the first to walk out of jail to cheers and hugs from relatives and supporters who took vigil outside following news that the two Morong courts had issued orders for their release.
The women stepped out of jail with wide smiles. They held plastic bags containing their belongings with their right hands, while their left hands were clenched in fists and raised high. One detainee carried a sign that said "Maraming salamat po sa mga sumuporta sa Morong 43 (Many thanks to all supporters of Morong 43)."
As of Saturday afternoon, 10 out of 15 male detainees have been released from prison. Bayan, a left-wing group that worked for the release of the Morong 43, said the papers of the five others were being processed.
Before going back to work, the women said they would “make up” with their families for the 10 months they lost in detention and were separated from their families.
Lydia Obera, the oldest detainee at 65, said the hardest part of their detention was the separation from their families. The grandmother of 10 said: “At my age, I never thought I'd be in prison.... It was difficult to be separated from our families. It was torture to us.”
“I will go home and spend the holidays with my family. We will make up for the lost time,” Clamor said. “Then it's back to work in January.”
Jane Balleta, a health worker, said she was looking forward to eating good food with her family “because we were on a hunger strike.”
Members of the Morong 43 went on a hunger strike on December 3 to press Aquino to free them. The hunger strike ended on December 10, after Aquino ordered the withdrawal of the charges against them.
Obera, fondly called "Mama Del" by the detainees and other inmates, said she would get a haircut and go shopping.
“Then I'm going to eat a lot. The food there was not good. I hope to sleep soundly too,” she added.
The released detainees said they would seek justice for their imprisonment. They said it was clear that the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives were manufactured.
“The charge against me was illegal possession of firearms. Look at me. Do I look like I can hold (a firearm) at my age? So very disgusting,” Obera said.
Clamor said there were no bomb-making devices in their seminar house, contrary to the claim of the military. “It was a legitimate medical training. All we had were medical equipment,” she said.
The military should be held accountable for their arrest, Clamor said. The past administration was also to blame for allowing the military to hold them.
“Former President Arroyo was responsible for our detention,” Clamor added.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Give love on Christmas, give justice to the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
Media practitioners on Thursday evening took time out from the holiday rush to observe the 13th month of the infamous Maguindanao massacre last year in which 58 people, 32 of them media workers, were killed.
Putting up yellow and red "parols" or lanterns at a monument in Quezon City, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines commemorated the anniversary with two days to go before Christmas.
Putting up yellow and red "parols" or lanterns at a monument in Quezon City, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines commemorated the anniversary with two days to go before Christmas.
NUJP secretary-general Weng Paraan said she was able to come up with only a little more than 10 parols on short notice, some which were strung on the Boy Scout Monument on Tomas Morato Avenue.
“It’s all I can find in Cubao because some stores have run out,” she said in an interview on Thursday evening.
The star-shaped parol, Paraan said, is a symbol of hope that justice will be soon served to the victims of the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre as well as the families they left behind.
“It is a symbol of the struggle and determination of the families and mediamen here tonight for justice as the trial continues,” she said.
Fifty eight people died in the pre election carnage last year when members of the Mangundadatu convoy were abducted on their way to file then vice mayor Toto Mangundadatu’s candidacy papers for the gubernatorial race.
Of the 58 victims, only 57 have been recovered. The last body, that of Reynaldo Momay, a photographer, has not yet been found. Thirty two of the victims were in the media profession.
Paraan said the families and the NUJP, as well as other like-minded groups, will never stop calling for justice even if the holiday rush has overtaken most people.
Some of the lanterns had tags such as “Give love on Christmas, give justice to the victims” and “Katarungan ngayong Pasko” (Justice this Christmas).
The NUJP official said the native Christmas lantern should not only stand as a symbol of Christmas and love, but also of hope for the victims.
"We in the NUJP ask for the continued vigilance as we monitor the developments in the Maguindanao massacre as it undergoes trial,” Paraan said.
Main suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. leads members of his family, supporters and policemen standing trial for 57 counts of murder in a Quezon City court.
Other groups, such as the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the Center for Community Journalism and Development also issued the same plea.
“We call on the speedy resolution of Andal Jr’s petition for bail as well as pending petitions by other accused, so that the court can proceed on the trial of the merits of the case,” said Melanie Pinlac of the CMFR.
By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Students will be required to learn about human rights while in school, if Senator Manuel Villar's bill is passed into law.
Senate Bill 2585 seeks to require all public and private elementary and high schools to include human rights courses in their curricula.
It likewise says that no school shall be established or allowed to operate unless this requirement is complied with.
"We should promote awareness and education of human rights to our youth in order for them to be advocates of human rights and the instruments for the realization of social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights," Villar said.
SB 2585 says that the Department of Education (DepEd), in consultation with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), shall formulate the human rights courses that may be taught as separate courses or as part of existing subjects being taught in the elementary and high school levels.
It says that DepEd shall likewise consult and coordinate with the CHR in the writing, printing, and publication of textbooks, manuals and other reading materials to be used in the human rights courses.
The measure says that funding for the program shall be sourced from the DepEd budget, specifically from the appropriations for policy formulation, program planning, standards development, and instructional materials development.
During the 14th Congress, then Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also filed a bill that would make human rights subjects a mandatory part of the curriculum of all educational institutions in the country. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV
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