Mobilization of ecumenical and progressive groups and a hunger strike by political prisoners will be among the highlights of the observance of International Human Rights Day in Negros Occidental on Sunday, Dec. 10.
Political prisoners in Negros will hold a 24-hour fast on Dec. 10 to express their unequivocal support for the recently announced resumption of peace talks between the Philippines government and the National Democratic Front.
Kapatid-Negros Occidental, in a press release, said that 100 of the 137 political prisoners in Negros Island will join the fast by subsisting only on liquids during the Human Rights Day observance.
They are also calling on the Marcos government to release on humanitarian grounds ailing elderly political prisoners like 75-year-old Frank Fernandez and 84-year-old Gerardo de la Peña, who are both detained at the National Bilibid Prison in Metro Manila.
Kapatid added that the 137 political prisoners in Negros are also united in calling for justice for lawyers Ben Ramos and Anthony Trinidad, Escalante City Councilor Toto Patigas, and Karapatan paralegal workers Zara Alvarez and Elisa Badayos,
These extra-judicial killings during the Duterte regime made more difficult the enjoyment of the basic rights of political prisoners to, among others, due process of law, presumption of innocence and competent and independent counsels, the press release added.
Meanwhile, ecumenical and progressive organizations in Negros Occidental will converge to commemorate International Human Rights Day at the St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Bacolod City, Dec. 7.
One Negros Ecumenical Council and Human Rights Advocates Negros, in a press release, said they will initiate a mobilization to aaddress pressing human rights concerns in the province.
They also aim to advocate for peace, justice, and protecting the integrity of creation, the press release also said.
The event will be participated by various parishes from north and south of the province and will tackle the “deteriorating human rights situation in Negros”.
HRAN has documented about 33 cases of extrajudicial killings in Negros Island, the press release said.
It also added that this mobilization stands as a unified call to action, seeking to raise awareness and demand accountability for human rights violations.*