Human rights group Karapatan has welcomed a bill filed in Congress that seeks the humanitarian release of sick, elderly, and vulnerable indigent detainees.
Filed by Reps. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers) and Renee Co (Kabataan), the proposed measure amends the Recognizance Act of 2012 to include fragile health, advanced age, and pregnancy or nursing status as grounds for recognizance.
It was refiled with support from human rights advocates and 81-year-old Prudencio “Tatay Pruding” Calubid Jr., who was wrongfully detained for six months due to mistaken identity.
Karapatan said the bill, filed ahead of Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18, upholds international standards for humane treatment of prisoners under the Mandela Rules.
The group noted at least 202 sick or elderly political prisoners remain in cramped, under-resourced jails nationwide.
Among them is 80-year-old peasant organizer Rosita Taboy, arrested in 2023 and now suffering from multiple health issues in detention.
Karapatan has recorded 24 deaths among political detainees in the past nine years, including cancer-stricken peasant leader Antonio Molina in 2021 and union organizer Ernesto Jude Rimando in 2024.
“If this bill is passed into law, we hope it will facilitate the release of poor prisoners on humanitarian grounds, especially ailing and elderly political prisoners who not deserve to spend a minute longer behind bars,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
She added, “This measure complements the call to release all political prisoners on just grounds… The Marcos regime’s campaign of political persecution… has viciously claimed lives and freedoms.”
