NEWS | Danger in dissent: Political prisoners amid the COVID-19 pandemic
By Christel Castro
With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the congested detention facilities throughout the country made the detainees more vulnerable to the virus. Political prisoners remain detained as their petition for temporary release is processed slowly.
War on dissent
The efforts of the government to suppress the dissent of the masses increased tremendously as consecutive arrests of activists and individuals occurred. The attempt to silence the people is further perpetuated by the controversial passing of the Anti-Terror Act on July 3, 2020.
The first half of Duterte’s tenure as president consisted of multiple arrests of human rights defenders. According to human rights group Karapatan Alliance Philippines (KARAPATAN), the Duterte administration already charged 2,370 human rights defenders in the first three years of his term.
The Duterte administration charged more individuals during the first half of his term compared to the Aquino and the Arroyo administration who charged a total of 1,817 and 2,059 human rights defenders respectively within their whole terms.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, human rights groups and pro-people lawyers rallied for the release of political prisoners who are vulnerable to contracting the virus.
On April 8, 2020, 22 inmates petitioned to the Supreme Court (SC) to allow their temporary release as they faced the threats of contracting the COVID-19 virus in the crowded detention facilities. The inmates are political prisoners and detainees who are elderly, sick, or pregnant.
Among the petitioners include labor union organizer Ireneo Atadero Jr., peasant leaders Noberto Murillo, Dario Tomada, and Oscar Belleza, and National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultants Rey Claro Casambre, Vincent Ladlad, Renante Gamara, Francisco Fernandez Jr., and Adelberto Silva, among others.
Inhumane decisions
In May 2020, nearly 10,000 prisoners were released to avoid congestion in the detention facilities. This number increased to almost 22,000 in July 2020 as the government continued to decongest jails. However, no political prisoners were released.
The SC ruled that the 22 political prisoners should undergo hearings in lower courts. The SC arrived at the decision on July 28, 2020, however, the decision was only announced on September 10, 2020. It was only on October 9, 2020, that the petitioners received the full copy of the 301-page decision of the SC.
According to the SC, the petition presented several complex issues making the interaction of applicable principles ridden with far-reaching implications.
The five-month period the SC took to decide regarding the temporary release of these political prisoners was proven to be detrimental. During this period, Bayan Muna activist Reina Mae Nasino, one of the 22 petitioners, spent her pregnancy in jail.
On August 13, 2020, baby River, Nasino’s daughter, was separated from her despite her pleas to allow her daughter to stay with her longer. The Manila court handling Nasino’s charges denied all petitions for them to stay together for at least a year. The health of baby River began to deteriorate weeks after her separation from her mother which then led to her death on October 9, 2020.
Congested jails and prison
As of December 2019, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has a 302% congestion rate in its 7 jails while the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has a 534% congestion rate in March 2020.
The congestion in detention facilities resulted in the faster spread of diseases, particularly the COVID-19 virus.
One of the most recent arrests of human rights defenders occurred on December 2, 2020. Amanda Echanis, the daughter of then-Anakpawis chair Randall Echanis, was arrested with her one-month-old son. Echanis is a peasant organizer who was arrested for alleged possession of firearms and explosives, a common charge against activists.
Echanis and her three-month-old son are currently detained in the Cagayan Provincial Jail. Rights groups called for their immediate release as there were at least 17 cases of COVID-19 in the detention facility..
Kapatid — Families and Friends of Political Prisoners (KAPATID), an organization of supporters of political prisoners, released a statement demanding the release of Echanis and her son to be a priority.
“The government should act immediately as the health of Echanis and her baby is at high risk, especially in overly congested, poorly equipped prison conditions where social distancing is impossible and mass testing for COVID-19 is ignored,” KAPATID Spokesperson Fides Lim stated.
The organization reminded authorities that children under the age of one are more prone to contracting diseases due to their immature immune systems.
Lim called on the government to learn from its mistake, recalling the tragic story of baby River and Reina Nasino.
