Kin, supporters hope Morong 43 released before Christmas

After a dialogue with Malacañang two days ago, relatives and supporters of the “Morong 43" said Wednesday that they hope President Benigno Aquino III will put an end to nine months of imprisonment and intervene to free the detainees within the next two weeks. The 43 health professionals and workers were arrested on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives after Army and police operatives raided a farm house in Morong town, Rizal province on February 6 this year. Since then, more and more groups have condemned the arrests and called on the Aquino administration to release the detainees, although the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has maintained that the Morong operation was “legitimate" and a “decisive tactical gain" in their counterinsurgency effort. (See: AFP defends its handling of Morong 43) This Monday, some 40 members of the Free the 43 Health Workers Alliance — comprised of family, friends, and other supporters of the detainees — secured a commitment from senior deputy executive secretary Jose Amorado to submit a review of the case to the President within a week. (See: Aquino to receive review of Morong 43 case this week.) Amorado explained that Aquino’s legal team will conduct a review of a report prepared by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima regarding the case of the 43. When their review is finished, they will submit it to the President, who is expected to act on the matter within a few days of receiving their recommendations, Amorado said. The meet took place after Malacañang rejected four earlier appeals from the Free the 43 alliance to secure a dialogue with Palace officials. After the meeting, however, Roneo Clamor, husband of detained Dr. Mary Clamor, said he was “dismayed" at the further delay. Clamor said that when Malacañang agreed at last to a dialogue, he had expected a concrete resolution to the case instead of being left “in limbo." “We were not there to beg for Malacañang’s mercy… we were there to signify and reiterate what a just government should do," said Carlos Montemayor, spokesperson of the Free the 43 alliance. In a statement released after the dialogue, relatives of the detainees urged Aquino to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to move towards withdrawing the charges against the 43. In a press conference this morning, relatives of the detainees admitted to “frustration" that it was taking so long to resolve the case, when the arrest was “clearly illegal." Aquino himself had implied that there were lapses in due process in the arrest of the health workers. As early as October 14, he said that there were questions regarding the legality of the arrest warrant. “Evidence wrongly gotten cannot be used, therefore [cases] cannot prosper," he said. However, according to Montemayor, Amorado told them during the dialogue that Aquino was also consulting security forces on the issue. “Bakit mo iko-consult ang mismong may kagagawan ng violations na ito? Syempre alam na natin ang ire-recommend ng AFP kay Noynoy. Hindi yun tama," said Wilfredo Serrato, father of one of the detainees, community health worker Malleen Serrato. (Why would you consult the very people responsible for these violations? Of course we know what the AFP would recommend to Noynoy. That’s not right.) Meanwhile, Ophelia Balleta, mother of health worker Jane Balleta, said that their family was having difficulty coping with the nine-month detention of Jane. “Wala akong maisagot sa apo ko kapag tinatanong niya kung kailan uuwi ang nanay niya." (I don’t know what to tell my grandchild when she asks when her mother is coming home.) Justice delayed In a letter written by the members of the Morong 43 who remain in the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, they thanked the “organizations and individuals who have joined our fight for justice during the last nine months." The letter was read in a press conference by a visibly emotional Evelyn Montes, wife of detainee Dr. Alexis Montes. The letter slammed former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for their unjust detention, but noted that so far, “the Aquino government, just like its predecessor, has remained callous to our plight." “Nine months is already too long… We cannot bear [even an] additional day of injustice. Justice delayed is justice denied," the letter read. Montemayor said that they expect all 43 to be freed, including the five who have been transferred from the civilian jail in Camp Bagong Diwa to a military detention cell in Camp Capinpin, after allegedly admitting to being communist rebels.—JV, GMANews.TV