An NPA partisan unit in the hinterlands.
In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Friday rejected the plan of the administration to release 50 political prisoners by the end of December. The proposal was announced by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the government’s chief negotiator with the communists.
"The planned release of a mere 40-50 political prisoners is an unacceptable token," the CPP said in a statement.
Peace advocates and human rights activists are coming together in support of political prisoners who intend to launch a hunger strike beginning December 3, Saturday.
An estimated more than 400 prisoners are believed locked up in various jails all over the country for political reasons, including a number who are sick, ailing and elderly, advocates say.
On November 29, Bernabe Ocasla, a 66-year-old peasant leader, expired while in detention due to lingering illness.
"This government must prove it is not as heartless as the previous administration ... It should not wait until the 15th political prisoner will die in jail with eyes wide open and mouth agape waiting for freedom that never came," Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL).
The group Pilgrims for Peace said they would join the hunger fast of the political prisoners at a peace tent to be installed near Chino Roces Bridge on Mendiola Street in Manila, which leads to one of the gates of Malacañang Presidential Palace, from December 3 to 10.
"We encourage President Duterte to release the political prisoners without delay," the group said.
It said the President should consider an amnesty proclamation to set in motion the process of the release of the political prisoners.
"Humanitarian grounds may be used for the release of sickly, elderly and long-detained political prisoners," it added.
In a related development, communist rebels gave the government up to January to free all 432 political prisoners in the country or "forego the possibility of forging a bilateral cease fire agreement" and "risk cutting short as well the mutual interim cease fire declarations" with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
The rebel ultimatum came even as the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an order pardoning four political prisoners who have been convicted of murder and kidnapping.
The OPAPP said Martin Villanueva, Bonifacio Suyon, Dindo Absalon and Rico Bodina, which it described as "farmers," are expected to be freed Monday at the latest.
But the CPP said "the release of political prisoners is taking way too long," noting that this was originally expected to be carried out in late October, when the government and NDFP intended but failed to sign a bilateral cease fire agreement.
"The expectation, which the Duterte government raised by signing the August 26 Oslo joint statement with the NDFP, was that all political prisoners will be released promptly and en masse through the issuance of a presidential amnesty proclamation," it said.
Thus, the CPP said, "the planned release of a mere 40-50 political prisoners is an unacceptable token," especially since, it added, "they are being made to go through a tedious legal process that adds to their agonizing legal ordeal after being made to face trumped up criminal charges, typically, possession of explosives, which are unbailable."
It noted that "even the release (of prisoners) on humanitarian grounds is unduly being delayed," citing the death of Ocasla after slipping into a coma.
The rebels reiterated that "the bilateral cease fire being sought by the (government) can only be forged if all political prisoners will be released" and all government troops are withdrawn from communities within "guerrilla zones."
It stressed that "the revolutionary forces are extending their patience," even as it complained that "surveillance, harassments and arrests against activists persist" and the military continues to operate and deploy in the countryside.
"By releasing all political prisoners, the Duterte regime can demonstrate to the Filipino people its commitment to fulfill the current and future obligations in peace negotiations with the NDFP," the CPP said.
http://interaksyon.com/article/134890/prospective-hunger-strike-by-political-detainees-gather-support
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