MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 1 June) – Political activists and progressive party list groups allied with the labor union Kilusang Mayo Uno demanded immediate the release of a detained militant lawmaker following a decision Friday by the Philippines’ Supreme Court junking rebellion charges against the politician and five others solons.
Rep. Crispin Beltran, also known as “Ka Bel” (Comrade Bel) is facing rebellion charges and currently under medical care at the Philippine Heart Center.
Aside from Beltran, the government also charged Reps. Saturnino Ocampo, Liza Masa, Rafael Mariano, Teodoro Casiño and Joel Virador.
“The decision of the Supreme Court affirmed the innocence of Ka Bel and that he must be freed right now and not a moment must be wasted. It took more than a year of campaigning for Ka Bel’s freedom and justice can never be sweeter than this,” Elmer Labog, of the KMU, said in a statement sent to the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
Labog said: “Since the case has been dropped, there’s no reason for his continued detention. The pressure was just too much and something had to break. Various organizations here and around the world, including the Amnesty International and the Inter-parliamentary Union, condemned the illegal arrest of Ka Bel.”
Beltran has been under detention for more than a year now. (Mindanao Examiner)
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