HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
NPA Dies
in
Manila
Prison
A New
People’s Army rebel died Oct. 21 while detained at the Maximum Security
Compound of the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa after suffering from
severe diarrhea and mental disturbance.
BY DABET
CASTAÑEDA
Bulatlat
A New People’s Army rebel
died Oct. 21 while detained at the Maximum Security Compound of the
National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa after suffering from severe diarrhea
and mental disturbance.
Norberto Botalon , 44, a.k.a
Ka Alex, an NPA guerilla from Sorsogon, a province 373 kms. south of
Manila, died at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)
Hospital.
Attending physician Ma.
Lourdes Razon, MD, signed the death certificate which states Botalon died
of cardio respiratory arrest secondary to typhoid fever. He was declared
dead at exactly 6:20 p.m..
Detention
Botalon, a coconut farmer
from Barangay (Village) Uraroy, Sorsogon, Sorsogon, joined the NPA in 1994
and served as a combatant for eight years. He, together with three others
(Armando Vidar, Sonny Marbella and Marianito Jasareno Jr.), was captured
by the military on Feb. 20, 2002 in a raid in Barangay Salvacion, same
municipality.
The four were charged with
criminal crimes: violation of Presidential Decree 1866 (Illegal Possession
of Firearms and Ammunition) and Robbery with Homicide. They were detained
for one year and seven months at the Bureau of Jail and Management
Penology (BJMP) in Bolago town, Sorsogon province.
The spokesperson of the
Sorsogon chapter of the human rights alliance Karapatan (Alliance for the
Advancement of People’s Rights) scored how the four were charged with
criminal offenses, instead of political, as decreed under the Amado
Hernandez Doctrine.
Rey Hahabag said the four
were captured during a military raid and should be treated as prisoners of
war and charged with rebellion, a bailable offense.
One of the captives,
Jasareno, was 16 years old, a minor, at the time of arrest and released
from detention in March 2002. The three others including Botalon were
meted the death penalty by Judge Honesto Villamor of Branch 52 of the
Sorsogon Regional Regional Court Sept. 20 for their Robbery with Homicide
case. Trial of their IPFA case is on going at Branch 51, also of the
Sorsogon RTC, under Judge Jose L. Madrid.
The three were transferred
to the Death Row of the NBP on Sept. 26.
Sickly
In an interview with
Bulatlat, Botalon’s wife, Merly, said her husband was afflicted with
asthma and diabetes even before he was captured. “Sakitin talaga sya,” (He
was really sickly) she said.
Merly said his condition
worsened after arrest. After four months in detention, Merly noticed
severe changes in his behavior. She said that during her visits to his
detention cell in Sorsogon, his prison mates would tell her that her
husband would neither eat nor sleep for several days and also refused to
speak with anybody. It was at this point that Merly realized her husband
was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Karapatan records show
Botalon was brought five times to the Cadlan Mental Hospital in Pili town
in the province of Camarines Sur.
Despite Botalon’s mental
disturbance, he and his co-accused were convicted of the Robbery with
Homicide and sentenced to death.
After the sentencing, Merly
said her husband’s condition turned from bad to worse.
Last conversation
It was Sept. 25, the day
before Botalon was transferred from Sorsogon to the NBP, that Merly was
able to talk with her husband for the last time.
“Hindi niya matanggap ang
nangyari sa kanya,” (He could not take what had happened to him) she
said.
“Sabi nya, ako na daw
muna ang magpakulong at aayusin niya ang kanyang kaso. Kapag naayos na,
tutubusin na niya ako dito sa preso,” (He said I should replace him in
prison while he fixes his case. And as soon as he does, he will get me
out of prison) she recalled her husband as saying.
Merly promised to visit him
at the NBP after a month. “Maghahanap lang ako ng pamasahe,” (I
will only find money for transportation) she told him. Little did she know
it was the last time they would talk.
Hahabag said that with
Botalon’s condition, he should not have been transferred to Manila.
At death row
The political prisoners who
saw Botalon at the NBP told Karapatan that his condition was getting worse
everyday.
Imelda Tendencia-Continente,
Karapatan staff member and wife of political prisoner Donato Continente,
said that upon learning of Botalon’s condition, their office asked the
assistance of doctors from the Council of Health and Development (CHD)
which has doctors who conduct regular medical check-ups of political
prisoners.
CHD doctors thus visited the
NBP on Oct. 11 but were denied entrance by the guards. According to
Continente, the doctors were told that their permit to enter the NBP was
lost.
CHD’s Dr. Reggie Pamugas
said they have been trying to schedule a medical check-up of all the
political prisoners and have followed up their request on July 8 and
August 11, and again on Oct. 11 when they went specifically for Botalon.
The doctors were never allowed entry.
Meanwhile, Botalon’s death
certificate stated that he was transferred to the NBP Hospital on Sept. 28
and stayed there until he died. Political prisoners however reported that
Botalon was confined at the hospital’s Ward 4, the psychiatric ward. They
believed he was dehydrated due to severe diarrhea.
Hahabag accused the
government of neglecting Botalon, saying the prisoners’s health was not
among government’s priority.
Hahabag said it was a
violation of the Part IV Article 4 of the Comprehensive Agreement on
Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)
which states, in part: 2.) The wounded and the sick shall be collected and
cared for by the part to the armed conflict which has them in custody or
responsibility; and 6.) All persons deprived of their liberty for reasons
related to the armed conflict shall be treated humanely… be afforded
safeguards as regards to health… On humanitarian or other reasonable
grounds, such persons shall be considered for safe release.
The CARHRIHL is a human
rights and international humanitarian law agreement between the Government
of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP) signed on August 1998.
Both parties have agreed to
put up an independent body, the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), to
observe whether both parties carry out the agreement. This officially
became operational upon its launching in April . It’s Joint Secretariat
(JS) holds office in Cubao, Quezon City. Bulatlat
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