737 held as political detainees, 164 arrested under Marcos Jr.

As of June 2025, a total of 737 persons were being held as political detainees in various detention centers and civilian prisons across the country. Of that total, 164 were arrested under the current administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Many of them have been slapped with trumped-up criminal charges, noted the human rights monitoring alliance Karapatan. The court hearings of their cases have been moving at “snail’s pace” – which in this country of ours is not unusual.

Thirty of the detainees were arrested on fabricated cases, with the police authorities invoking the much-criticized Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 and a related earlier legislation, the Terrorism-Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.

Among those accused under these laws are journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, development workers Marielle Domequil and Emilio Gabales, church worker Aldreen Yanez and environmental activist Miguela Peniero.

Of the 737 now being held in jail for alleged political offenses, a big number (104) are elderly and 96 are afflicted with various mostly chronic ailments.

It needs to be pointed out that thousands and thousands of other Filipinos are languishing in jails all over the country today, and Karapatan emphasizes that practically all of them were subjected to torture and inhumane treatment, as well as subhuman conditions in congested facilities that are run on insufficient and corruption-prone budgets. Their diet is unhealthy, and they get too little medical and other care services or none at all. (Unlike certain detainees who get rushed to a hospital, or are even able to enjoy hotel-like accommodations and much more.)

It’s not surprising then that deaths from illness and neglect have resulted, including 13 political detainees held since the Marcos Jr. administration.

The Anti-Terrorism Council and the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC, which President Marcos himself heads) have continued to make liberal use of the terror laws, especially against human rights defenders, development workers, church and humanitarian workers.

At least 227 individuals have been arbitrarily designated as “terrorists” or are currently facing charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act or its related legislation, according to Karapatan.

Furthermore, 17 non-governmental organizations or NGOs have had their bank accounts and assets frozen because some of their members or workers have been arrested and detained under such laws.

Despite widespread and continued denunciation both here and abroad, Red- or terrorist-tagging is a prevalent practice by the NTF-ELCAC. Even before his election, Marcos Jr. has had nothing but praise for the task force. Once ensconced in Malacañang, he has publicly refused to abolish it – despite the recommendation for its abolition by United Nations Special Rapporteurs who have visited the country and decried the situation of continuing human rights violations.

Such an adamant stance by the current administration signals that it intends to continue its predecessor’s abhorrent regard for human rights. This, according to Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay, reveals a “sinister pattern of instilling fear and suppressing dissent.”

Among those nabbed by state security forces and charged with violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act and related laws, three – namely Elgene Mungcal, Norma Ortiz and Lee Sudario – have been forcibly disappeared. Under the current administration, 15 desaparecidos have been documented by human rights groups.

In light of this shameful situation, Karapatan has called on the Marcos Jr. administration to release all political detainees on just and humanitarian grounds, and to surface all those who have been forcibly disappeared.

The independent human rights monitor also urged the repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Act and related laws, while proposing the enactment of legislation for the recognition and protection of human rights defenders and the creation of the National Preventive Mechanism Against Torture.

Meantime, Kapatid, the support organization of families and friends of political detainees, has sought a dialogue with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) chief, Gen. Ruel Rivera, over the situation at the Tacloban City Jail Female Dormitory (TCJFD).

Fides Lim, Kapatid national spokesperson, has called on Rivera to urgently engage in a dialogue with her group over what she observed as “serious harassment” of political detainees and other persons incarcerated at the TCJFD.

“Kapatid expresses grave concern over mounting reports of neglect, discrimination and abuses against political prisoners Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Marielle Domequil and other inmates at TCJFD,” Lim wrote.

The concerns include persistent medical neglect, suppression of visits and communications and a broader climate of hostility and disregard of detainees’ welfare.

“This is not merely a question of administrative misconduct but of unchecked power,” Lim said. “The government – and jail authorities as its agents – has both a legal and moral duty to ensure that no one, whether an inmate or a visiting family member, lawyer, diplomat or human rights worker, is subjected to unjust, discriminatory or inhumane treatment within detention facilities.”

Recent formal complaints filed by the People’s Alternative Media Network (AlterMedia) detailed abuses and mismanagement under Warden Eva Napato and Senior Jail Officer 1 Dalmacio Canayong Jr. These ranged from denial of timely medical attention to arbitrary suspension of visitation rights even during scheduled visits by diplomats and representatives of international and local media and interfering in the privileged conferences that political prisoners have with their lawyers.

Tacloban City Jail remains the only known facility in the region without a Regular Family Day, one of the few opportunities the detainees have to maintain ties with their loved ones.

Conditions such as a leaking roof, questionable financial demands imposed on detainees and the warden’s refusal to directly communicate with inmates further highlight administrative neglect and callous disregard for their welfare.

“The BuCor may have ‘permanently banned’ me for relentlessly questioning abusive procedures,” Lim said. But, she quickly added, “that won’t stop us from pushing back for change. We call on the BJMP chief to act differently: to be transparent, listen to the affected families and take real steps to address these serious concerns.”

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