People worldwide commemorate July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day, honoring an anti-apartheid activist and former political prisoner who was incarcerated for 27 years under inhumane prison conditions. Mandela was the first Black to become president of South Africa.

On this day, Kabataan Party-list’s Renee Co and Act Teachers Party-list’s Antonio Tinio filed House Bill No. 2066 or the Antonio Molina Bill, which aims to amend the Recognizance Law of 2012. This would include severe illness, old age, pregnancy, and being a nursing mother as grounds for releasing prisoners.

The bill is named after Antonio Molina, an elderly farmer and political prisoner who was charged with fabricated cases and later died from advanced stomach cancer in prison.

Karapatan data shows that at least 100 ailing and 102 elderly political prisoners are currently detained in various facilities where conditions are inhumane.

Karapatan members and Prudencio Calubid Jr, an 81-year-old former worker who was wrongfully imprisoned for six months due to mistaken identity, also joined the bill’s proponents. Despite Calubid’s case dismissal, the Office of the Solicitor General appealed for his reimprisonment.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched the Bantay Bilangguan campaign, which seeks to reinforce the National Prevention Mechanism (NPM), a national mechanism aiming to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment inside prisons and mental institutions. The campaign also seeks public and institutional support for the swift passage of the proposed National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Bill.

Kapatid, an organization of friends and families of political prisoners, expressed support for the CHR campaign.

Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said the arbitrary ban imposed on her in all Bureau of Correction (BuCor) facilities shows the urgent need for the NPM. “BuCor weaponizes security protocol to silence dissent, block humanitarian aid, and shield impunity inside prisons.”

She emphasized that her ordeal shows why there must be an independent body that is fearless to hold state violators accountable, consistent with the principles the NPM aims to uphold. An independent group can use the NPM to conduct regular surprise inspections of prisons, issue evidence-based recommendations, and build relations with key agencies to prevent torture and other abuses.

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which outline international guidelines setting the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) with an emphasis on respect for dignity and value, and on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman treatment, are called the Nelson Mandela Rules.