The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas agrees with the worldwide call by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to release prisoners to prevent unnecessary suffering and loss of life in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The human rights organizations in the Philippines are already pressing for the release of elderly, ailing and political prisoners.

The jails in Eastern Visayas are vulnerable to ravaging by the COVID-19 pandemic. These places are congested, lacking in sanitation, and provide poor nutrition and medical attention. Many languish in detention because of the snail’s pace of the reactionary justice system, even the first-time and light offenders.

There are also at least 28 political prisoners in Eastern Visayas; 13 others have been convicted and imprisoned outside of the region. They suffer the criminalization of their offenses in violation of the Hernandez doctrine. Furthermore, they have to contend with trumped-up charges filed by the military and police that keep them in jail despite the obvious absurdity of the charges. This is illustrated by the illegal arrest and detention last February of five legal activists in Tacloban City, of whom three remain in detention.

We urge the people to support the compassionate call for the nationwide release of the aged, ailing and political prisoners. We call attention to the political prisoners in Eastern Visayas who continue to languish in injustice. They must be released as part of the people’s struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-poor and anti-democratic response of the Duterte government to the public health crisis.#