“Reprimands against few government officials charged in the said cases can be viewed as mere slaps on the wrists, considering the sufferings endured by Nasino and NUPL and the gravity of the offenses. Full accountability for those responsible in violating their rights can be hardly gleaned from these decisions.” – Karapatan
Political prisoner Reina Mae Nasino visited her late daughter, baby River Emmanuelle’s grave after three years of incarceration on charges that were found to have failed to establish strong footing.
A local court granted the bail petition of three political prisoners, citing “failure of the prosecution to prove that the evidence of guilt against all accused is strong.”
“Nothing now stands in the way of freedom for Reina Mae Nasino, Alma Moran and Ram Carlo Bautista after nearly three years in jail for an offense they did not commit because it was a pure police invention.”
As Mary is portrayed as a woman that committed to the fulfillment of the Savior’s birth, Reina Mae and Amanda are among the many young women that carry-on Jesus’ mission. They have embodied love and service to God’s people- the poor and the marginalized. They are channels of God’s grace and salvation to those who are oppressed and disenfranchised.
“This heartbreaking predicament of having babies separated from their detained mothers, and of being denied of their basic human right to their mother’s breastmilk, that is justified by rules issued by jail authorities, is what Reina Mae brings before the Supreme Court for its review and resolution.”
Republic Act 11148 or First 1,000 Days law seeks to provide children with necessary nutrition and health program from their conception as an infant up to their second birthday.
“The subtext of our legal submissions is that hers is a case of patent abuse of authority by the state — of a negotiated procurement of defective search warrants; of a crackdown not on crime, but on legitimate dissent; of an oft recycled charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives lodged against activists filed not on the basis of fact and evidence, but on the convenience of the unavailability of posting bail as a matter of right.”
Human rights lawyers representing Reina Mae Nasino said the Manila judge exhibited manifest bias and partiality against the political prisoner and her co-accused.
“There is something wrong because her 23-year old mother was detained not because she did something wrong, but because she was wrongfully accused.” — Bishop Broderick Pabillo
Today marks the 40th day since the death of Baby River, daughter of a political prisoner Reina Mae Nasino. The term cruel is an understatement to describe how the mother and child were separated and how it revealed serious gaps if not flaws in the country’s justice system.