CLAIM: In a December 15 post, a Facebook page published a pubmat that showed a screenshot of an inquirer.net article on the Court’s decision to grant the petition for bail of Reina Mae Nasino and other political prisoners.
The photo used by Inquirer totally blurred the image of Nasino’s then newborn baby but the said FB page only slightly blurred the face. The pubmat also included Nasino’s photo where she smiled and made a peace sign while wearing the orange ‘Manila CIDG Detainee’ shirt.
Text on the pubmat read: Ang pabayang ina, makakalaya na? Matatandaan na dahil sa kapabayaan at pagiging ‘miyembro’ ng CPP-NPA-NDF ay namatay ang kaniyang sanggol. Never again. Never forget.
[The negligent mother will be released? It can be recalled that her baby died because of her negligence and being a ‘member’ of the CPP-NPA-NDF. Never again. Never forget]
The page has 75K followers and 55K likes as of Wednesday, December 28.
RATING: FALSE
FACTS:
The FB page claimed without proof that Nasino has ties with the Communist movement.
Nasino is an activist who was arrested, together with members of different non-government organizations, during the search operations in 2019. She was charged with unlawful possession of firearms and explosives.
Nasino and her two other companions claimed the cases filed against them were trumped up and part of the massive crackdown on activists.
At the time of her arrest, she was unaware she was already one month pregnant.
In July 2020 and while in detention, she gave birth to River. The then newborn—underweight at about 5.5 pounds —was separated from her mother’s care, a month after birth. Baby River was brought to her grandmother.
Requests to either let Nasino and her baby stay longer at the hospital or let Nasino keep her baby inside the jail so she could take care of her were denied by the Court.
Baby River was later diagnosed with acute respiratory disease and passed away in October 2020 after weeks in the intensive care unit.
In September this year, the Court of Appeals voided the search warrants used to arrest Nasino and two other activists for failure to meet standards and that all evidence recovered is inadmissible.
On December 12 this year, a Manila court granted the petition for bail filed by Nasino and her companions, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove that evidence of guilt is strong.
Davao Today is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, email info@factsfirst.ph.
philippines, Red-tagging, Reina Mae Nasino
