ANGELES CITY – Leaders of militant groups from Central Luzon trooped the other day to Malacañang to appeal to Pres. Aquino to release all 25 “political detainees” from the region as his mother, the late former Pres. Corazon Aquino, did when she assumed power in 1986.
Two of the detainees, namely, Leopoldo Caloza and Emeterio Antalan whom they identified as “duly designated” staff members and consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), are now seriously ailing.
Leaders from the Families and Friends of Central Luzon Police Detainees (FFCLPD), United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), Karapatan-Gitnang Luson, Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL), and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also prepared a petition to the President, citing three other demands.
The three other demands include the immediate passage of “adequate legislative measures to decriminalize political offenses”, the investigation of “all human rights cases, and prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, and indemnification of victims of human rights violations”, and “due enforcement of the law against torture as well as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and other international humanitarian laws.”
The petition, signed by hundreds of folk from Central Luzon, sought the “immediate release and unconditional dropping of all the charges against all the 25 political detainees in the same way that former President Cory Aquino did in the exercise of her political will upon her assumption to office in 1986.”
“But urgent consideration must be accorded to Leopoldo Caloza, Emeterio Antalan, Efren Delalamon and Edgardo Friginal due to their status as NDFP consultants and staff on peace process, and also in view of Caloza’s and Antalan’s worsening health condition,” the petition stressed.
The petition said the 25 detainees are “now languishing in various jails in and outside Region III on the strength of trumped-up criminal charges leveled against them by their military captors.”
Julita Caloza, spokesperson of FFCLPD, relatives have testified their the detainees “are honorable people and not criminals.”
“It is extremely unjust for the government to slap them with criminal charges for their political offenses. They played significant roles in ousting the Marcos dictatorship and the Estrada regime, and fought for the people’s interest in the past Arroyo administration,” she said.
The petitioners said “at the very least, they are entitled to be treated as political offenders and not as criminals, to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty, to be granted provisional liberty while their cases are being heard, to be given adequate medical attention or released on humanitarian considerations for health and analogous reasons.”
The petition lamented that “even these minimum safeguards have not been afforded by the government which made the detainees victims of its prevailing practice of criminalizing political offenses to portray them as criminals.”
It also decried “the military’s penchant for fabricating new criminal charges whenever the previous criminal cases were dismissed by the courts.”
“To say the least, these maneuverings constitute a serious affront to the basic tenets of justice and fair play,” the petition stressed.
The petition cited the case of political detainees Leopoldo Caloza and Emeterio Antalan “who have suffered worsening health condition while in detention.”
Karapatan-Gitnang Luson chair Sr. Cecile Ruiz said that Caloza has been suffering from “obstructive europathy for several years now, while Antalan continues to suffer the pain of kidney trouble and fluctuating blood pressure.”
“They deserve to be released on humanitarian grounds,” Ruiz added.
Roman Polintan, BAYAN-Gitnang Luson chair, said that Caloza, Antalan, along with Efren Delalamon and Eduardo Friginal are “duly designated consultants and staff of the NDFP on peace process.”
“As such, they are covered by the protection against arrest and detention under the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed between the Philippine government and the NDFP. This all the more justifies their immediate release from detention,” he noted.
Two of the detainees, namely, Leopoldo Caloza and Emeterio Antalan whom they identified as “duly designated” staff members and consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), are now seriously ailing.
Leaders from the Families and Friends of Central Luzon Police Detainees (FFCLPD), United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), Karapatan-Gitnang Luson, Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL), and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also prepared a petition to the President, citing three other demands.
The three other demands include the immediate passage of “adequate legislative measures to decriminalize political offenses”, the investigation of “all human rights cases, and prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, and indemnification of victims of human rights violations”, and “due enforcement of the law against torture as well as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and other international humanitarian laws.”
The petition, signed by hundreds of folk from Central Luzon, sought the “immediate release and unconditional dropping of all the charges against all the 25 political detainees in the same way that former President Cory Aquino did in the exercise of her political will upon her assumption to office in 1986.”
“But urgent consideration must be accorded to Leopoldo Caloza, Emeterio Antalan, Efren Delalamon and Edgardo Friginal due to their status as NDFP consultants and staff on peace process, and also in view of Caloza’s and Antalan’s worsening health condition,” the petition stressed.
The petition said the 25 detainees are “now languishing in various jails in and outside Region III on the strength of trumped-up criminal charges leveled against them by their military captors.”
Julita Caloza, spokesperson of FFCLPD, relatives have testified their the detainees “are honorable people and not criminals.”
“It is extremely unjust for the government to slap them with criminal charges for their political offenses. They played significant roles in ousting the Marcos dictatorship and the Estrada regime, and fought for the people’s interest in the past Arroyo administration,” she said.
The petitioners said “at the very least, they are entitled to be treated as political offenders and not as criminals, to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty, to be granted provisional liberty while their cases are being heard, to be given adequate medical attention or released on humanitarian considerations for health and analogous reasons.”
The petition lamented that “even these minimum safeguards have not been afforded by the government which made the detainees victims of its prevailing practice of criminalizing political offenses to portray them as criminals.”
It also decried “the military’s penchant for fabricating new criminal charges whenever the previous criminal cases were dismissed by the courts.”
“To say the least, these maneuverings constitute a serious affront to the basic tenets of justice and fair play,” the petition stressed.
The petition cited the case of political detainees Leopoldo Caloza and Emeterio Antalan “who have suffered worsening health condition while in detention.”
Karapatan-Gitnang Luson chair Sr. Cecile Ruiz said that Caloza has been suffering from “obstructive europathy for several years now, while Antalan continues to suffer the pain of kidney trouble and fluctuating blood pressure.”
“They deserve to be released on humanitarian grounds,” Ruiz added.
Roman Polintan, BAYAN-Gitnang Luson chair, said that Caloza, Antalan, along with Efren Delalamon and Eduardo Friginal are “duly designated consultants and staff of the NDFP on peace process.”
“As such, they are covered by the protection against arrest and detention under the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed between the Philippine government and the NDFP. This all the more justifies their immediate release from detention,” he noted.
