Myles is Free

She was a free spirit, a young woman guided by her own principles and with eyes fixed on what she believed was right. Her name is Myles Albasin. I first knew her when she entered the University of the Philippines Cebu as a young mass communication student. I can still recall her vigor and passion as she threw herself into campus journalism activities. Later, we would find ourselves on the same streets during mobilizations. She was part of the movement, and I was a journalist covering the story. Whenever we crossed paths, she would call me her “ate,” and I held her in my heart as such.

On that fateful day of March 2018, everything changed. News broke that Myles had been arrested in Negros Oriental and brought to a military camp. She was accused of organizing rebellious activities and, worse, of possessing high-powered firearms and explosives. I ran to the area to cover and when I saw her, she looked helpless. It was like seeing a little girl who didn’t know what was going on. I asked how she was, assuring her it would be alright. From then on, my visits to her in jail became frequent, not only as a journalist telling her story but as a friend who refused to let her feel forgotten. Today, Myles is free.

Her acquittal, along with five others, is proof that justice despite being delayed can still be achieved. This is attained even amid harassment, judgment, and the cruel spite her family endured. It can be reached when with the right set of arguments and lawyers who know their clients’ rights. Those seven long years behind bars were stolen from her, years when she could have blossomed into the young woman she was meant to become. Instead, she became a poster child used by authorities to intimidate and warn younger activists: a symbol of what could happen if you dared to dissent in a system so deeply broken.

The risk of standing up for what one believes in has always been great. Yet, this risk should never be a reason for silence. Myles and her comrades chose to express themselves through organizations and movements that gave them meaning and community. That choice did not strip them of their humanity, nor did it make them less Filipino. In truth, it only proved their love for this country. If there is ever a time to speak up, it is now. The same system that imprisoned Myles for seven years is the very system that continues to fail its people and rob them of their future.

Today, my heart is filled with joy knowing Myles is free at last. I hope she can live the life denied to her for so long, without fear for herself or her family. She deserves to walk forward with dignity, with her rights fully restored, and with the freedom that was unjustly taken from her. We can be Myles in many ways and like her, we should also be free.