HOME FOR CHRISTMAS? Activists are raising funds to bail out three detained rights workers, including Reina Mae Nasino, pictured above with Baby River, whom she lost in detention in 2020. The target is to get Nasino, Alma Moran and Ram Carlo Bautista released before the holidays, the groups say. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Activists launched a fundraising drive to help bail out three detained colleagues, including Reina Mae Nasino, who lost her 3-month-old baby while in detention in 2020, even as lawyers moved to have the bond for their provisional liberty cut in half.
The groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Karapatan started seeking donations on Wednesday in hopes of collecting a total of P1.41 million to get Nasino, Alma Moran, and Ram Carlo Bautista released from the Manila City Jail.
鈥淥ur target is to get them home before Christmas,鈥� said Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary general.
Lawyers for the three activists also asked the Manila judge who granted their bail petition to consider halving the bail amounts, noting that it might be impossible for their families to raise the money.
Their motion cited the 鈥渟trong ties to the community鈥� of the three activists, their lack of criminal history, and the court鈥檚 own Dec. 12 order stating that the evidence presented so far by the prosecution was 鈥渘ot strong.鈥�
鈥淚n setting the bail amount, all circumstances have to be considered,鈥� Nasino鈥檚 lawyer Kathy Panguban told the Inquirer.
The joint motion noted that the three were full-time human rights workers who were 鈥渆arning only what was necessary for their daily sustenance鈥� and were relying on their 鈥渓ow-income, working class families鈥� for support.
鈥业尘辫辞蝉蝉颈产濒别鈥�
鈥淕iven their situation, it is really impossible for them to raise that kind of amount,鈥� the lawyer said.
Nasino and her two companions were arrested in Manila鈥檚 Tondo district in November 2019 on the strength of so-called 鈥渞oving warrants鈥� for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
The Court of Appeals, on Aug. 31, voided the search warrants that resulted in their arrest upon finding that these 鈥渇ailed to meet the standards of a valid search warrant, and all evidence procured by virtue thereof are deemed inadmissible.鈥�
On Monday, Judge Paulino Gallegos of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 47 set bail for Nasino and Moran at P420,000 each and for Bautista at P570,000.
The amounts were based on the 鈥淏ail Bond Guide鈥� issued by the National Prosecution Service in 2018, which states that bail for violations of certain special laws, including illegal possession of firearms or explosives, should be computed based on the number of years of the maximum penalty multiplied by P10,000.
Panguban said she realized that the court was only following the guide, but argued that the economic situation of the three should be taken into account.
鈥淩eina Mae, Ram and Alma are innocent, and yet they are being made to go through so many legal wringers to get out of jail,鈥� Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said in a statement.
Fundraising
According to Reyes, solicitation letters are being circulated online by the Metro Manila chapters of activist groups led by Kapatid and Karapatan, with help from Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, Kabataan party list, National Union of Students of the Philippines, Bayan and Gabriela.
鈥淩eina Mae has endured so much, from being jailed on trumped-up charges, losing her baby while in detention, and now, having to raise nearly half a million pesos for her bail,鈥� Reyes lamented.
Nasino gave birth to her daughter known as 鈥淏aby River鈥� in jail on July 1, 2020, but the infant fell ill and died on Oct. 9 after she was separated from her mother.
Nasino, then 23, had petitioned the court to allow her to be with her child but her appeals were denied, sparking a public outcry.
鈥淚n the interest of justice, we urge the court to reduce the Tondo 3鈥檚 bail considerably and allow them to spend Christmas with their families,鈥� Palabay said, referring to the three by their new moniker among activists.
鈥淎dd to this the fact that Reina Mae, Ram, and Alma come from working-class backgrounds and can ill afford the excessive bail being demanded by the court,鈥� she said.