A young mother and her newborn son in the Philippines are waiting for a court ruling on their future together. The mother is one of 43 health workers arrested earlier this year for alleged possession of weapons and associations with the New People’s Army (NPA). Corazon Miller reports
Baby Oliveros is less than a month old, but already he is a cause célèbre for human rights groups that claim this was an illegal arrest supported by lies, torture, false evidence, false witnesses and the denial of visiting rights.
A Philippines court is expected to soon make a ruling on the fate of the baby and his mother, 27-year-old health worker Judilyn Oliveros.
Filipino human rights group Karapatan and international solidarity groups, including in New Zealand, are calling for the immediate release of Oliveros and the so-called Morong 43.“Oliveros should be immediately released with her baby and we strongly protest the planned separation of mother from child,” Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez said.
“It is cruel to have him separated from his mother.
“I delivered my first myself when I was imprisoned during martial law and I and my fellow prisoners did not allow my baby to be separated from me.
“We call on justice secretary De Lima not to allow this injustice to happen.”
Del Abcede of the Auckland-based Philippine Migrant Centre has described the situation as inhumane for both mother and the baby.
“The baby needs nourishment and care. Bonding is difficult to establish when they are separated at this stage,” she said.
“Prison is a crowded, noisy and unhealthy place – far from an ideal place for a baby to be raised.
“If the baby gets sick, health-care is not easily accessible.”
Training session
Oliveros was arrested on February 6 along with 42 of her colleagues while attending a training session sponsored by local health organisations in Morong in Rizal province in the Philippines.
According to Amnesty International, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines accused the group of belonging to an armed wing of the Philippines Communist Party – the New People’s Army (NPA) – and of possessing weapons.
After five months of captivity, Oliveros was released from Camp Bagong Diwa, in Taguig City, Philippines, to give birth to her first child but there are now concerns that the two will be separated when Oliveros is sent back to jail.
Online Filipino news publication Bulatlat says in an article the legal counsel for the Morong 43 has filed a petition for Oliveros’ release before the Morong Court.
Amylyn Sato, a legal counsel, told Bulatlat the defence was not asking for a specific time frame for the release. But a paediatrician recommended six months so the baby can be breastfed as advised by the World Health Organisation.
A spokesperson with the group “Free the Morong 43”, Carlos Monttomayur, said that despite Justice Secretary Leila de Lima saying her office would not object to Oliveros’ release, there was no sympathy coming from the prosecution which is “vehemently opposed” to her release.
Ruling due
Prosecutor Romeo Senson rejected the request.
The court decision should be made any day now, said Monttomayur.
“Hopefully within a few days we will know.”
National Council of Churches of the Philippines’ (NCCP) spokesperson Mervine Toquero said the situation was unjust.
“It is mind boggling,” he said.
“Even under the Marcos dictatorship there were instances where a mother was set free.
“Yet now, in this supposedly democratic space, we are doing this to this mother and her baby.”
The NCCP is just one of the local and international human rights organisations condemning the detention of the Morong 43.
They claim the arrest of all 43 health workers was during an “illegal raid” that violated standard procedures and human rights.
Toquero said Oliveros and her fellow health workers were illegally arrested under the previous Arroyo government – “an administration that promised to uphold human rights”.
Arrest procedures
None of the 43 should have been arrested in the first place, he said.
“The arrest procedures undertaken by the military and police were improper.”
Monttomayur said the arrest was made under a defective search warrant which was for the entire area and named a person who was not even one of the 43.
Toquero said the Filipino justice system was one of impunity – perpetrators of human rights violations got away with their misdeeds .
“There is a great inequality within the justice system – the gap between rich and poor is very evident in the prisons,” Toquero said.
“Many of those jailed, like the Morong 43, have no capability to defending themselves.”
“The high profile criminals quite often get out while the petty crims languish for years.”
Amnesty International is concerned with what it sees as a violation of the health workers legal and human rights.
Not informed
“The Morong 43 were not informed of the reason of their arrest or of where they were being taken,” Amnesty International said.
“The premises were searched while the detainees were outside – there were no credible witnesses.”
Toquero said the Morong 43 were denied visiting rights – friends, relatives, parents and even legal counsel and human rights groups were unable to visit the prisoners at the military camp.
Philippine Migrant Centre’s Abcede said this was a technique used by the military to force a false confession.
“It has always been a practice of the military to interrogate and torture to make the victims admit crimes they did not commit.
“If they cannot endure the physical and psychological torture, they succumb to the pressure of admitting false charges against them before they are allowed a legal counsel or visit from a family member.”
Abcede said the court should order the release of the mother and the Morong 43.
“They are not guilty of the charges in the first place,” she says.
Amnesty International is calling for an “immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the arrest, detention and treatment of the health workers”.
The defence counsel has responded by filing a petition of habeas corpus to challenge the validity of the arrest.
Corazon Miller is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.
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