The need for humane treatment of prisoners should be prioritized. Well-being of individuals, especially the elderly and those with serious health conditions, should be a concern and considered within any justice system. This principle brings us to the urgent calls for justice and humane treatment in the case of Albert and Virginia Villamor.
On the recently concluded gathering of the families and victims of human rights violations, Albert Pascual from Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) delivered a compelling speech highlighting the ongoing injustices faced by many political prisoners, focusing particularly on the Villamor couple. Albert Villamor, 69, and Virginia Villamor, 72, have been arrested along with Vicente Ladlad, 75, and have been imprisoned since their arrest at home on November 8, 2018. Virginia suffers from hypertension, while Albert has diabetes, and has just recovered from a stroke he also suffered in 2018. Despite their old age and severe health conditions, they were charged with trumped-up cases of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Pascual also drew a contrast between the treatment of the Villamors and high-profile figures like Imelda Marcos and Juan Ponce Enrile, who, despite their convictions, enjoy freedom purportedly due to their old age and health concerns. “๐๐ช๐ญ๐ข [๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ] ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ข ๐ข๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐บ; ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ โ๐บ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐จ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ-๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด โ๐บ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฉ๐ถ๐ญ๐ช,” Pascual stated passionately. His words and sentiments resonated deeply, revealing the systemic biases and double standards that plague our justice system.
Pascual’s speech ultimately emphasized the urgent need for justiceโhe called for the immediate release of the Villamor couple, urging the authorities to exhibit the same leniency shown to politically connected individuals. “๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐จ ๐ด๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ.” Pascual asserted, echoing the collective frustration of the gathered families and victims.
Justice should not be a privilege enjoyed only by the powerfulโit should be a right for all. Karapatan continuously calls for the immediate and compassionate release of elderly and terminally ill political prisoners, along with the dismissal of the trumped-up charges among all the others. ( Pubmat and Caption by: UP Manila PolSci Practicum Student)
