On December 10, International Human Rights Day, families of political prisoners gathered before the Supreme Court in Manila to call for the urgent issuance of a “writ of kalayaan.” This writ is a legal remedy to alleviate overcrowding in prisons and address the rights of inmates in the country.

The writ of kalayaan was first proposed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in 2020 following a petition from Kapatid, a group supporting political prisoners, to release medically vulnerable inmates during the pandemic.

Alongside their action, families submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court to expedite the issuance process. According to Kapatid, they hope this will serve as a Christmas gift for political prisoners and recognize their human rights and dignity as inmates.

“The conditions in Philippine jails are nothing short of deplorable, amounting to cruel and unusual punishment, even blatant torture,” the group explained in its court appeal. It urged the Supreme Court to visit prisons to see for itself these depressing conditions.

In 2022, three to four inmates died each day in Philippine prisons, and political prisoners are not exempt from this grim reality. Under the Marcos regime, eight political prisoners have died from illnesses worsened by prolonged state detention.

According to Karapatan, there are currently 757 political prisoners nationwide, where 103 are elderly and 97 are ailing. Of these inmates, 156 are women, and 17 are National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants and staff.

Before the court, several relatives of political prisoners took turns speaking to appeal to the justices. Among those who spoke were the grandchildren of Lola Virginia Villamor, 73, and her husband Alberto Villamor, 69. State forces arrested the couple on November 8, 2018, at Quezon City after allegedly having seized firearms and explosives from their home.

“It’s been six years now since Lola Virginia Villamor has been jailed and she can now hardly walk. She’s been in and out of hospital and we fear for her deteriorating health,” her granddaughter Symone Villamor said. Andrei Villamor, another grandchild of the couple, added, “We know the truth… none of our grandparents had a gun.”

Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said state forces wrongfully implicated the couple in connection with the detention and arrest of NDFP peace consultant Vicente Ladlad. Ladlad was arrested at the Villamors’ home when the previous Duterte administration unilaterally terminated peace talks and ordered all its consultants’ arrests.

Lim also shared that both the Villamor couple and Ladlad were among 76 victims of Judge Cecilyn Villavert’s “search warrant factory.” Almost all victims of her warrants that resulted in illegal arrests have since been quashed.

They and the entire Kapatid hope that the court will grant this legal remedy as soon as possible. “We will cling to any possibility that gives us hope,” Lim added.

Meanwhile, the group condemned the Bureau of Corrections for its recent repression against political prisoners. According to them, BuCor has blocked the entry of water dispensers, rice cookers, and electric fans for political prisoners at New Bilibid Prison. This clearly represents a form of discrimination and harassment since other inmates are allowed these items.