This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 4, Feb. 25-March 3, 2007
‘Tagaytay 5’ Fast for Freedom
BY
DENNIS ESPADA
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna – Protest actions against
tyranny reverberate not only in the streets but also in prisons.
On the wall in their cell at the temporary
holding center of the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s Camp Vicente Lim in
this city, 52 kms south of Manila, a big sign reads, “WE ARE ON INDEFINITE
FASTING.”
The “Tagaytay 5” – Axel Alejandro Pinpin, Riel
Custodio, Aristedes Sarmiento, Enrico Ybañez, and Michael Masayes – began
fasting Feb. 20 to denounce what they say is “miscarriage of justice in various
forms and levels” and the “cruel” treatment of political detainees like them
under the Arroyo regime.
“[We] are launching our prison protest so that
justice and truth may reign, freedom is regained, and prisoners’ rights
respected,” they said in a statement issued on the first day of their fasting.
Day after day since Feb. 20, Pinpin, Sarmiento,
and Custodio have been eating only one full meal (with one cup of rice) and soda
crackers. For health reasons, however, Masayes and Ybañez are taking two full
meals (two cups of rice). The five said their fasting would gradually escalate
into a full-blown hunger strike by April 8 or beyond “if they see no development
in their case and situation.”
Laura Sarmiento, wife of one of the detainees,
told Bulatlat that a scheduled hearing at the Tagaytay Regional Trial
Court Branch 18 on Feb. 21 was reset due to the judge’s absence. Despite the
postponement, some 100 supporters staged a rally in front of Camp Vicente Lim
with a number of them skipping meals.
‘High-risk’ detainees
Held more than 300 days now inside a cramp,
25-square-meter jail, the five were seized in Tagaytay City last year and
accused of being New People’s Army (NPA) rebels by the PNP-Calabarzon (provinces
of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and the Department of Justice (DoJ).
At press time, the prosecution has failed to present credible evidence linking
them to a so-called anti-government “destabilization plot” early 2006.
On the contrary, the detainees argued they are
agriculturists, peasant advocates, and ordinary citizens – accusing the PNP of
forcible abduction, arrest without warrant, interrogation without counsel,
incommunicado detention, torture and robbery-holdup.
The five said they are continuously deprived of
their right to sunning, adequate medical care and a visitor’s area, which was
recommended by no less than Commission on Human Rights (CHR) official Wilhelm
Soriano. They recalled that senators and congressmen were made to talk to them
standing behind the steel bars.
“Even the joy of walking a reasonable distance
daily was denied to us because, as the PNP black propaganda goes, the Tagaytay 5
are ‘high-risk and high-profile detainees’ and that the detention center in
Canlubang is not a regular detention facility but just a temporary ‘holding
center,’” they lamented.
Hungry for other’s sake
The Tagaytay 5 said they are also doing this in
solidarity with fellow political detainees, namely: Anakpawis (Toiling Masses)
Rep. Crispin Beltran, alleged NPA leader Eduardo “Edik” Serrano, the “Mamburao
6” (peasant leaders from Occidental Mindoro who were “wrongfully convicted”),
the Magdalo soldiers; and all those who have been summarily executed,
extra-judicially killed and involuntarily disappeared “for they shall never have
their day in court and will never be able to tell their tales of horror.”
Although their relatives objected to their plan
of fasting, the five said that undertaking such sacrifice could send a strong
message to the powers-that-be, as well as the international community. “Our fast is also our
manner of commemorating and reliving the spirit of Edsa 1986, which delivered
our country from state terrorism and fascist dictatorship only to be revived 20
years later under the current regime,” they said. “Indeed, fascism and terrorism
never left our country with Marcos.” Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
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On the wall in their cell
Calamba, Laguna, a big sign reads, “WE ARE ON INDEFINITE FASTING. The
“Tagaytay 5” started fasting in protest against what they say is “miscarriage of
justice in various forms and levels” and the “cruel” treatment of political
detainees under the Arroyo government.
Bulatlat