From InterAksyon (Dec 30): Rights group slams PNP for barring visits to political detainees, demands explanation
The human rights organization Karapatan slammed the Philippine National Police for barring two of its officers and several others from visiting political prisoners detained at the custodial center in Camp Crame and demanded an explanation for the move.
In a confidential memorandum dated December 27, Chief Superintendent Charles Calima Jr., head of the PNP directorate for intelligence, cited unspecified derogatory record/information for dropping six persons, including Karapatan's Cristina Palabay, the group's secretary general, and Ivy Joy Valencia, from a scheduled visit to the political prisoners on December 29.
A copy of the memorandum, obtained by Karapatan, was furnished InterAksyon.com.
The others who were not allowed to visit were Rey Claro Casambre of the Philippine Peace Center, Nenet Gonzaga, Peter Gonzales and Petra Venus Villegas.
They were among a group of 17 that sought clearance to visit political detainees Eduardo Sarmiento, Ramon Argente, Renante Gamara and Eduardo Serrano, all consultants of the National Democratic Front, for a Christmas party.
Palabay said Karapatan chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez was also barred from the visit even if she is an independent observer to the peace talks between government and the NDF, which represents communist rebels in the peace talks.
Aside from barring the six and Hilao-Enriquez, Calima, in his memorandum, also ordered the Camp Crame commander to provide security/monitoring personnel to ensure the security during the said visitation and submit to the directorate an after activity report.
Palabay demanded that the PNP €œexplain the supposedly confidential memorandum and said Karapatan would file a complaint over €œjail policies which curtail the rights of political prisoners, human rights and peace advocates.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/77750/rights-group-slams-pnp-for-barring-visits-to-political-detainees-demands-explanation
What we know for sure here is that KARAPATAN is the main Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) human rights front organization. The mission of KARAPTATAN is defend and protect the members of the CPP and its military and political wings, the New People's Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front, respectively, and to conduct propaganda campaigns to discredit the government/military on human rights issues. The six people denied access by the PNP are all CPP front group activists.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, just because KARAPATAN calls jailed insurgents "political prisoners" does not make it so. By the group's definition, all incarcerated insurgent cadre are political prisoners and not the seditionist thugs and murderers that they really are.
Secondly, my best guess is that holiday visitation rights were probably restricted by the PNP to family and legal council in order to maintain proper order in its detention facilities. It would seem that technically, the members of KARAPATAN and other CPP groups such as the Philippine Peace Center, would have no inherent visitation rights under this policy.