Kapatid, a group of families of political prisoners, reiterated its call for the release of Gerardo dela Peñtilde, 84, the oldest of 824 political prisoners currently incarcerated in different parts of the country. The groups said it has been pushing for dela Peña’s release since 2019 but no action has since been taken by the state.

Dela Peña, who has hypertension and other ailments, is a farmer from Vinzons, Camarines Norte who was sentenced to life imprisonment over trumped-up murder charges. He has been in prison for ten years. He is a former leader of the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda) and a member of Karapatan.

Kapatid first appealed for his release on humanitarian grounds in 2019 but was rejected by the Supreme Court which affirmed his sentence.

Meanwhile, a Muntinlupa court dismissed the case against three drivers who took part in protests in Alabang, Muntinlupa City during the transport strike on March 7. According to Piston, the case was dismissed after the complainants repeatedly failed to attend the hearings.