EDITORIAL - Justice denied

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 47 recently cleared activists Reina Mae Nasino, Ram Carlo Bautista, and Alma Moran of illegal possession of firearms and explosives after the prosecution failure to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

If the first name sounds somewhat familiar to you, Nasino was arrested in November 5, 2019 following a search of the office of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN). Firearms and explosives were allegedly found during the raid, but the accused said that these were planted by the police.

More famously or, rather, more infamously, she was also the woman who was allowed by the court to attend her baby daughter’s funeral in October of 2020. But she was made to wear full PPE gear and handcuffs, then whisked back to jail way before her allowed time outside ended.

Her inhumane treatment caught the attention of the public.

With her acquittal three years later we can say this is justice delayed and therefore justice denied. However, there are two victims in this injustice, Nasino and her daughter, River, with whom she was pregnant during her arrest.

After she had given birth in jail, she requested the court to be allowed to nurse her daughter who was becoming sicklier, the court denied the request saying it did not have enough personnel and resources to grant her request.

As mentioned in an earlier editorial, these personnel and resources only seem to be available when detained people of wealth or influence make their requests.

Now all this for nothing after the charges against Nasino and the others were proven to be insubstantial.

Can we say for certain that River would have been alive and healthy today had Nasino not been detained because of bogus charges? It might not be a stretch to believe so.

The sad episode of Nasino involves persecution of activists, selective treatment of prisoners, the slow grind of Philippines justice, and a slew of other issues. However, the biggest tragedy is that the loss of a young life could have been prevented.