Rights lawyers to Duterte: Release political prisoners without conditions

Human rights lawyers on Thursday urged President Rodrigo Duterte not to set any conditions for the release of all political prisoners as part of the confidence-building measures in the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) sets as one of the conditions for the talks the release of all political prisoners in the country.

However, Duterte recently said that there will be no releases until a bilateral ceasefire agreement is signed during the Oslo talks.

“The government, as an act of good will and an expression of good faith in the ongoing peace negotiations, must release without any conditions, political prisoners who are still in jail," said National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) secretary general Ephraim Cortez.

Cortez added that the President must not only release them based on humanitarian reasons "but most especially because it is the only right and just thing to do."

"These political prisoners have been wrongly accused, lodged with trumped-up charges and charged with ordinary crimes. Many of them are ill. Some in fact have already died," he said.

NUPL serves as counsel for some of the political prisoners.

To dramatize their call, Cortez said 76 political prisoners have started their hunger strike while about 122 others have begun fasting since December 3.

According to human rights group Karapatan, there are over 400 political prisoners detained in various prison facilities in the country, 130 of whom are sick and elderly.

Four rebels convicted for murder and kidnapping were already given presidential pardon as announced by Labor Secretary and government peace panel chairman Silvestro Bello III last week.

They were identified as Martin Villanueva, Bonifacio Suyon, Dindo Absalon and Rico Bodina.

They have served sentence ranging from 18 to 26 years, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. All are farmers. — VVP, GMA News