DAVAO CITY – Philippines and New Zealand-based human rights groups are urging the Philippine government to act on the speedy release of two University of the Philippines-Clark campus who the military arrested a year ago.
In a statement to the press, Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS) said the government should “(a)rrest the 20 senators and 100 congressmen named on the affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles (and) release the illegally detained UP Clark students Guiller Cadano and Gerald Salonga from detention.”
“We call on Philippine authorities to immediately arrest Napoles’ co-plunderers instead of detaining the UP students and other activists who expose and oppose government corruption,” Cameron Walker, spokesperson of APS said.
On August 8 last year, Cadano and Salonga “were abducted—without any warrant of arrest, blindfolded and denied access to their relatives and lawyers,” the group said.
Human rights group Karapatan reported that the two were “abducted by elements of the 3rd Infantry Battalion from the 7th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police Crime Investigation and Detention Group at Barangay TL Padilla, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.”
The two were youth organizers of Kabataan Partylist, Karapatan said.
Cadano and Salonga are two of over 500 political prisoners facing trumped-up charges recorded by Karapatan.
In an earlier open letter to President Benigno Aquino signed by rights advocates in New Zealand and Australia, APS appealed fo presidential amnesty to all political prisoners.
“The Philippines is sadly known to be one of the most dangerous places for activists and journalists because of the continuing wave of illegal detention and extra-judicial killings of those critical of government corruption,” said Walker.
Ahead of 21st Ninoy Aquino Day commemoration, the group reiterated their call for Aquino “to honour his father by releasing (the) political prisoners around the country.” (davaotoday.com)
