Pinoy Weekly | Political prisoners start ten-day hunger strike

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST

Victims and families of human rights violations in Southern Tagalog slammed the government’s inaction and injustice, calling Pres. Aquino a “curse and deluge” to the Filipino people. (Macky Macaspac)

A week before the celebration of International Human Rights Day, political prisoners in different detention centers today started a 10-day fasting and hunger strike to demand the Aquino administration to immediately release them and resume the stalled peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Aside from their continued detention, political prisoners are also protesting the alleged corruption and ineptitude of the government in its response to areas badly hit by typhoon Haiyan.

NDF peace consultants detained at Camp Bagong Diwa and Camp Crame said in a statement that, as a matter of principle, the NDFP remains open in continuing the peace talks, “especially in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan and the magnitude of the disaster brought about by the ineptitude of the BS Aquino government in preparing for the typhoon and in responding to the situation of the victims,” the group said.

But the group cautioned that under the present government, the resumption of peace talks between the two parties remain dim, and the subsequent release of political prisoners even dimmer. “We see no other alternative but for this sitting president to be replaced by someone more capable and open to the possibilities, such that a peace negotiation process may prosper,” the group said.

The group also scored the government’s continued military operations and its refusal to match the CPP-NPA’s (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) ceasefire declaration in disaster-stricken areas. “The AFP is more concerned with their war against the so-called enemies of the state than with the plight of the victims of the typhoon,” the political prisoners stated.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensiyon at Aresto, said that the Aquino administration has been trying hard to hide the presence of political prisoners. “All the political prisoners are charged with common crimes, effectively hiding the political nature of the cases. And even if there is an anti-torture law, majority, if not all, political prisoners have been tortured,” Enriquez said.

According to Karapatan, there are 449 political prisoners all over the country, 154 of whom were arrested under the Aquino government. The group also noted that 35 of them are women, while 48 are sickly and 28 are elderly. “The Aquino government should release the sick and elderly political prisoners on humanitarian grounds,” Enriquez said.

Enriquez added that political prisoners are mixed with criminal elements in cramped, dingy detention cells where congestion is posing a great danger to the health of inmates in general. She also said that medical facilities are inadequate for sick patients. “Some of the inmates, including political prisoners, just die. This is what happened to Mr. Alison Alcantara, a convicted political prisoner in the New Bilibid Prisons who died of acquired pneumonia in September of this year.”

Political prisoners in the National Bilibid Prison-Medium Security Area also expressed their disgust at Aquino’s slow response at the height of destruction by typhoon Haiyan. “The government does not have any immediate plan nor alternative ways to help those victims of Yolanda,” the prisoners said.

Meanwhile, women political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa said, “In the middle of this crisis and dire needs of the people, the government remained slow and indecisive in responding, while it prioritized politicking.”

Selda calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners. “The public must know that there are still political prisoners under this administration, who has been deceiving the public that it is not committing political persecution,” Enriquez said.