JOSE Ceriales, a political prisoner who served 32 years after being convicted of common crimes, was finally released from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City last week.
“After 32 years spent in jail on trumped-up charges of multiple murder and double frustrated murder, Jose Ceriales was finally freed on April 19, 2017. Ceriales was arrested on May 3, 1985, in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental, when he was only 22. Now, he is 54. Those 32 years of injustice spanned different regimes,” Karapatan Deputy Secretary-General Jigz Clamor said.
Ceriales was detained for eight years at the provincial jail, before he was convicted and transferred to the New Bilibid Prison, where he stayed for another 24 years.
He was among the political prisoners in the list forwarded by the National Democratic Front (NDF) to the Government of the Philippines for immediate release.
Ceriales said news of developments in the peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the government gave convicted political detainees hope of freedom.
“Ceriales was not released due to the decisiveness of GPH but because he endured long years in prison. He said he is happy for being released finally but after languishing in prison from the Marcos dictatorship to the Duterte administration, he cannot forget the injustice he had suffered,’ Clamor said.
Two convicted political prisoners from the Davao Penal Colony, Miguel Panhay and Gerald Robles, were also released on March 18, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively.
“Like Ceriales, Panhay and Robles were released after serving their sentences. Panhay and Robles both spent 11 years in prison,” Clamor said.
With the release of Ceriales, Panhay and Robles, and taking into account newly arrested political prisoners, the number of political prisoners as of April 19, 2017, is 400.
“Despite the releases, the number of political prisoners will continue to swell so long as the current administration continues with the practice of filing trumped-up charges and illegally arresting individuals to inhibit them from continuing with their work, which commonly involves organizing and service to the country’s oppressed and marginalized sectors,” Clamor said.
The release of political prisoners is among the demands forwarded by the NDF to the Philippines even before the formal talks began.
Clamor said, “When the President acknowledged the existence of political prisoners way before he was sworn into office, he also acknowledged the need to address the root causes of the armed conflict. This was reflected when he agreed to continue the talks and release the peace consultants.”
“The GPH can do right by the still-detained political prisoners by heeding their clamor for immediate release,” Clamor said.