'High-level' meet for remaining 10 Morong detainees eyed

After securing the freedom of most of their clients, lawyers of the 43 health workers arrested last February on suspicion of being communist rebels have started mapping out moves to free the 10 remaining detainees this coming week. Lawyer Edre Olalia said in a radio interview Saturday their camp is planning to send a “high-level delegation" to government and thresh out their next moves. “We will make representations and clarify who among the 10 remaining detainees still want to be in military custody," he said in Filipino in an interview aired on dzRH. He said that as of 2:30 a.m. Saturday, they secured the release of 33 of the 43 health workers, who were arrested last February in Morong on suspicion they were New People’s Army members. Of the 10, five are still at the Metro Manila District Jail in Bicutan (Taguig City), while five are at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. But this early, Olalia said the charges against some of the remaining 10 detainees are “laughable," as these involved bouncing checks. The others face criminal charges such as murder and arson. “The bouncing checks case is laughable. These are health workers mostly based in the provinces. While it can be a case of mistaken identity, there is also the possibility the charges were trumped up," he said. — LBG, GMANews.TV