Days before the 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22, and as the world commemorates Nelson Mandela International Day today, July 18, the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) and other rights advocates protested in front of the Department of Justice demanding the immediate release of ailing and elderly political prisoners across the Philippines.
The Nelson Mandela International Day was declared by the UN General Assembly in November 2009 in honor of South African and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years as a political prisoner of the South African apartheid government.
According to Karapatan, there are currently 754 political prisoners in the Philippines. Among them, 102 are suffering from various ailments, with some in serious condition and exacerbated by harsh prison life. Notably affected are Ernesto Jude Rimando, Rosita Taboy, Marites Coseñas and Miguela Peniero.
“Political prisoner Ernesto Jude Rimando is critically ill with liver cancer and is currently hospitalized at the Philippine General Hospital,” said SELDA spokesperson Danah Marcellana. “He was arrested without warrant on January 6, 2021, and tortured by his captors. Over three years, his liver cirrhosis progressed to stage 4 cancer. Despite his deteriorating health, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology failed to address his medical needs,” she continued.
Delays in court proceedings have further aggravated his condition. “Ernesto is now fighting for his life while facing multiple fabricated charges,” she added.
Antonio Legaspi, husband of political prisoner Rosita Taboy, similarly suffered mistreatment and tragically passed away within a year of his arrest on May 26, 2023. Rosita, 79 years old and also suffering from illnesses, urgently requires improved medical access to avoid the same fate. She remains detained in Catbalogan, Samar.
Marites Coseñas, 49 years old and a peasant organizer and member of Gabriela in Northern Samar, was arrested on January 27, 2009 at Barangay Urdaneta, Lavezares, Northern Samar on trumped-up charges of double murder. She was later convicted on March 31, 2015 and sentenced to serve 20 to 40 years in prison. In May 2024, Coseñas underwent a mastectomy of the left breast because of a huge and painful lump she had been suffering from for two years. The operation was conducted through the help of a human rights-affiliated group. The Bureau of Corrections did not lift a finger throughout her ordeal. Fortunately, the biopsy revealed that the lump is benign, but Coseñas still suffers considerable post-operative pain.
Miguela Peniero, 56, a cancer survivor, has been arrested twice on trumped-up charges. She continues to face health challenges, including hypothyroidism, high blood pressure and psoriasis. Her arrest on July 12, 2023 was the second for Miguela. In 2012, she was arrested and charged with a case of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. The lower courts wrongfully convicted Peniero but she was acquitted on appeal after eight years in prison. Peniero is currently detained at Calamba City Jail Female Dormitory and faces trumped-up charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
“The relentless filing of charges under the ATA and the ‘terrorism financing’ laws against activists and human rights defenders continues since the law’s enactment in 2020. Currently, at least 32 political prisoners face fabricated charges under the ATA,” added Marcellana.
Among those falsely charged under the ATA and the ‘terrorism financing’ laws are journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 25, and humanitarian worker Marielle Domequil, both arrested on February 7, 2020 in Tacloban City during a crackdown on activists following Executive Order 70 issued by Duterte which called for stepped-up counter-insurgency operations in Eastern Visayas, Negros and Bicol. Cumpio and Domequil were initially charged with illegal possession of firearms and later accused of terrorism financing.
Aldeem Yañez, a 47-year-old volunteer church worker of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, was arrested in April 2022 in Cagayan de Oro City on dubious grounds. Facing fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, Yañez asserts the evidence was planted.
Despite laws that are supposed to protect the people against illegal searches, unjust arrests and planting of evidence, these violations persist because of the prevailing culture of impunity.
“SELDA urgently calls for Ernesto Jude Rimando’s release on recognizance and the immediate dropping of all false charges against him. Likewise, Rosita Taboy, now the oldest political prisoner, and all other ailing and elderly political prisoners should be released on humanitarian grounds,” concluded Marcellana.