It showed the Philippines had a 鈥渉ealthy democracy,鈥� a spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said, referring to a court order instructing the military to immediately release Andrea Rosal, daughter of a former New People鈥檚 Army commander, who was detained for 18 months.
鈥淪he should enjoy the freedom that she has got now. It shows that we have a democracy that鈥檚 working; that if you have rights, you fight it out in court,鈥� AFP public affairs officer Col. Noel Detoyato said on Tuesday.
But the lawyers of Andrea saw her release from prison Tuesday as only the first step in what could be a long legal battle. Edre Olalia, secretary general of the NUPL, told the Inquirer on the phone that the group was studying the filing of charges of 鈥渕alicious prosecution,鈥� among others, against all police and military personnel involved in the detention of Andrea on 鈥渢rumped up鈥� charges.
Andrea who was seven months pregnant when she was arrested in March 2014 and whose baby died while she was under custody, teared up yesterday as she recalled her ordeal in jail and called for the release of other political prisoners.
鈥淲hat happened to Andrea was really traumatic,鈥� Olalia said.
鈥淭his malicious persecution has lost her precious time, cost her a child, and brought deep anguish to her family,鈥� adding that those who participated in her persecution should be 鈥渕ade to account and restitute the irreparable damage to her.鈥�
鈥淚mpunity for rights violations persists because patent trumped up charges ripen into court cases that takes eons to resolve and demands tedious, cumbersome legal disentanglement,鈥� the NULP statement said.
Olalia said that among those who could be charged for Andrea鈥檚 ordeal were officials of the AFP鈥檚 Southern Luzon Command who 鈥減roduced the professional witnesses鈥� that led to the filing of 鈥渢rumped up鈥� kidnapping and murder charges against her.
Krissy Conti, NUPL assistant secretary general, said they would hale to court all the so-called witnesses who implicated Andrea in supposed crimes, the 鈥渋nvestigating team鈥� that filed the charges against her at the Mauban, Quezon Prosecutors Office, the operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the AFP鈥檚 Intelligence Service who arrested her, and the Mauban prosecutor who found probable cause to file the criminal charges in court.
Andrea was taken from her home in Caloocan in March last year and was charged with kidnapping and murder. In July 2014, a Pasig trial court dismissed the charges against Andrea. A court in Mauban, Quezon, where charges had also been initially filed, finally ruled on Aug. 6, 2015 that there was no reason to detain Andrea, citing the earlier dismissal of charges against her.
Andrea is the daughter of the the late communist New People鈥檚 Army commander Gregorio Rosal, alias Ka Roger. Her mother, Rosemarie Domanais, another NPA leader was killed in an encounter with military forces in 2011, the same year her father died of a heart attack.鈥�Delfin T. Mallari Jr. and Julie M. Aurelio with Erika Sauler and Kristine Felisse Mangunay