Groups gathered on Wednesday to call for the immediate release of veteran women’s rights advocate Ma. Salome “Nanay Sally” Ujano and to push for stronger legal safeguards for human rights defenders in the Philippines.
The solidarity event, held in Quezon City, was organized by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), and allied groups, including the World March of Women, Philippines Against Child Trafficking, and the Medical Action Group.
Organizers said the gathering aimed to highlight what they described as a “clear injustice” in Ujano’s continued detention, and to demand the swift passage of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill — a long-pending measure that seeks to institutionalize protections for those working to uphold human dignity and democratic rights.
Jean Enriquez, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific and national coordinator of the World March of Women, rejected the charges of rebellion filed against Ujano, describing them as “outrageous.”
“We were facilitating a survivors’ group healing session together on the very days she was accused of committing rebellion,” Enriquez said. “She has spent almost three decades directly attending to cases of violence against women and children.”
PAHRA Secretary-General Egay Cabalitan said Ujano’s case reflects a broader pattern of harassment against human rights workers, many of whom have been red-tagged in recent years.
“Nanay Sally does not belong in prison,” Cabalitan said. “Her continued detention is a clear injustice rooted in red-tagging used to silence human rights advocates. Her release is not just about one person, it reflects our country’s commitment to human rights and democratic principles.”
Church leaders also voiced their concern. Fr. Angel Cortez, OFM, speaking on behalf of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP), called Ujano’s conviction “a mirror held up to the soul of a nation wounded by repression, impunity, and the betrayal of its poorest citizens.”
“We… stand in firm and prophetic solidarity with Maria Salome ‘Sally’ Ujano, a woman of deep compassion and unshakable commitment to justice,” he said.
Ujano’s family, meanwhile, issued a direct appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order her release. Klaro Ujano, speaking for the family, said the arrest and prolonged detention had left them fearful and disillusioned.
“Our mother became one of the many victims of Duterte’s red-tagging,” he said. “We urgently appeal to President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. for her immediate and unconditional release. Emotionally, the arrest and relentless red-tagging have left us shaken. We’ve experienced deep fear—sometimes even hopelessness—about the current state of our justice system.”
The organizers said that defending human rights workers is fundamental to strengthening Philippine democracy. They urged Congress to prioritize the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill and called on the president to certify it as urgent.
“Defending the defenders is defending democracy,” said Cabalitan. “By passing this bill, we recognize that human rights work is essential to building a just and humane society.”
