April 9, 2010
Gabriela Condemns Health Workers’ Return to Camp Capinpin

News Release
09 April 2010

GABRIELA, a national alliance of women’s organizations in the country, strongly condemns the return of the 38 health workers to Camp Capinpin despite the court’s decision granting the transfer of the detainees to Camp Crame. Majority of the detained health workers are women.

“Returning them to Camp Capinpin right after they were brought to Camp Crame, is, by itself, a torture to the detainees. Getting their hopes high, then arbitrarily, returning them to Camp Capinpin where they were subjected to various forms of tortures and sufferings during their illegal detention,” said Emmi de Jesus, vice-chairperson of GABRIELA and second nominee of Gabriela Women’s Party.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), there is not enough space in the custodial center of Camp Crame to house the detainees.

“If that is the case, then set the detainees free! In the first place, their arrest was illegal, so is their continued detention,” said De Jesus.

“Camp Capinpin is the very place where the health workers were tortured and their rights grossly violated. Bringing them back to that camp, is like bringing them back to hell and worse and we see this ploy as another dirty tactic by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to break the spirit of resistance of the illegally arrested and detained health workers,” said De Jesus.

“The military and the Macapagal-Arroyo regime had just fanned the already flaming fury of the people. The fight to free Morong 43 will further escalate,” concluded De Jesus.

Reference: Emmi De Jesus, Vice-Chairperson of GABRIELA, second nominee of Gabriela Women’s Party