Court grants Andrea Rosal’s petition for hospitalization

Andrea Rosal will be transferred to the Philippine General Hospital until she gives birth.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The Regional Trial Court of Pasig City granted the petition of nine-month pregnant Andrea Rosal to be hospitalized until she has given birth.

Rosal, daughter of the late Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, former spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was arrested on Mar. 27, 2014 along with two others.

She arrived at the local court’s Branch 266 handcuffed, wearing a bracelet made out of beads with the words “free.”

As of this writing, her friends and supporters are currently helping facilitate her transfer. The schedule of her transfer to the Philippine General Hospital has yet to be set.

On Mar. 27, Rosal was arrested along with two others in a house in Caloocan City by the combined forces of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Organized Crime Division at around 7:00 a.m.

Rosal was charged with kidnapping and murder, which she denied in television interviews.

Outside the Hall of Justice of Taguig City, members of Gabriela – Southern Tagalog held a protest action, pressing for the granting of the said petition.

Motion to dismiss

Rosal’s petition for the dismissal of the case, on the other hand, is scheduled to be heard on Sep. 2, 2014.

Her lawyers filed a petition for the dismissal of the case on grounds that Rosal was mentioned in the witnesses’ sworn statement only once. Erwin Rosales, one of the witnesses, stated that he trained with the accused and other members of the New People’s Army.

Rosales did not mention Rosal’s name in his sworn statement when he listed the names and aliases of those involved in the kidnapping and murder case, which allegedly happened on May 27, 2007. Though witness Marissa Eclavea mentioned Rosal in her statement, she said she did not witness the incident and was relying on Rosales’s statement.

In a statement, the Free Andrea Rosal Movement said, “Instead of illegally detaining and criminalizing political offenses of innocent people especially in the case of Andrea who is nine months pregnant, the Aquino administration should jail and prosecute plunderers like Janet Napoles and Gloria Arroyo who have committed grave sins to the people and yet they are still enjoying privileges whenever they would like to have medical check-ups in private hospitals and other favors from the government.”