Int’l groups to DOJ: Resolve pending review, release Ericson Acosta now!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2013

International human rights groups appealled yet again to the Department of Justice (DoJ)  to immediately issue a favorable resolution to the Petition for Review filed by detained poet-activist Ericson Acosta.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who met with Acosta’s family last week, promised Acosta and his supporters that the DoJ resolution will be out “by Friday (last week) or early next week.” However, The DoJ is yet to release its decision as of posting time.

In separate statements addressed to the DoJ, human rights support groups from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterated their appeal for Acosta’s immediate and unconditional release.  

“Acosta’s complainants have failed to file any comment on this petition. Without such opposition, the review petition should have been resolved within 60 days,” said Rev. Canon Barry Naylor, honorary president of the CHRP-UK (Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines-United Kingdom).  The petition for review was filed by Acosta’s lawyers from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) in September 2011.

“We as SF CHRP (San Francisco Committee for Human Rights Rights in the Philippines) demand that all of the trumped-up and fabricated charges against him be dropped and that he is set free in order to pursue his artistic passions,” said Rupert Estanislao, chair of the SF CHRP.

“(Acosta’s) continued detention is a colossal injustice to Acosta and to the Filipino people whom he has chosen to serve through his courageous and creative involvement in the people’s struggle for their economic, political and cultural rights,”  said Orval K. Chapman, founding member of the Canada-Philippines-Solidarity for Human Rights.

Acosta, 40, a cultural worker arrested by the military in San Jorge, Samar while conducting human rights research,  is currently confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City after securing a court order for a medical furlough.  Upon arrest, Acosta was interrogated and tortured inside a military camp for three days before a trumped-up charge of illegal possession of explosive was filed against him to justify his arrest and detention.  Before his confinement at the NKTI, Acosta was detained for 23 months at the Calbayog sub-provincial jail in Samar.

His supporters say that his current medical problems are the direct result of torture and dismal prison conditions.

The Free Ericson Acosta Campaign (FEAC) demanded that the DOJ resolve the case immediately while Acosta is under medical furlough. “We do not want him to return to a hostile environment given his medical condition,” the group said.  

“The only thing (Acosta)  is guilty of is dedication and service to the oppressed masses of the Philippines,” they said.

Father also in hospital

Acosta’s family continues to raise funds for his medical bills even as Acosta’s elderly father, Isaias, 79, who publicly appealed for his son to receive medical treatment since July of last year, is now also scheduled to undergo a spinal operation within the week.

“The distress of Ericson’s imprisonment has also taken its toll on my husband’s health. He is in severe pain now due to a spinal ailment and needs to immediately undergo operation. We are very old, our only wish is to see our son walk free again,” said Liwaway, 80,  Acosta’s mother. ###

Supporters of Ericson Acosta want DOJ to resolve petition while poet still under medical furlough

January 23, 2013  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

Supporters of Ericson Acosta want DOJ to resolve petition while poet still under medical furlough

The family, supporters and fellow artists of detained poet Ericson Acosta held a picket-rally at the Department of Justice to call for his immediate release.

Acosta, 40, a political prisoner was earlier granted temporary release from the Calbayog sub-provincial jail to undergo medical treatment at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City, through the provisional assistance of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) led by Chief Atty. Persida V. Rueda-Acosta .

In line with the PAO’s Legal and Medical Jail Visitation and Decongestion Program, Atty. Rueda-Acosta visited Samar Sub-Provincial Jail inmates, including Acosta, at his detention cell, and consequently filed a Manifestation cum Compliance on 17 January 2013 seeking for his release for the purpose of undergoing medical check-up, confinement and treatment at the NKTI.

The picket-rally was held as Atty. Rueda-Acosta submitted her report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on PAO’s provisional assistance on Acosta’s case.  The PAO, in the same letter, requested that the DOJ “immediately resolve” the petition for review filed by Acosta’s legal counsels on September 1, 2011 “in the highest interest of justice and for humanitarian reasons”.

The PAO’s submission came in light of DOJ Chief Leila de Lima’s directive for the “immediate disposition” of Acosta’s petition for review following intensified clamor from his supporters and a personal letter from Acosta requesting for a dialogue.

Acosta’s supporters in the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign (FEAC) said that the DOJ failed to act promptly on the petition for review. “It’s been almost two years. Ericson’s current medical condition is due mainly to having been tortured and unjustly and illegally incarcerated. The DOJ should immediately dismiss the complaint against Ericson,” said National Artist for Literature Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera.

Acosta’s petition for review stated several irregularities and human rights violations in Acosta’s arrest and detention, namely, 1) he was arrested without warrant while not committing any crime or doing anything illegal; 2) he was not informed of the reason for his arrest at the time of his arrest; 3) he was denied the right to counsel; 4) he was denied a phone call and prevented from contacting his family or lawyer; 5) he was subjected to prolonged interrogation for 44 hours; 6) he was physically and psychologically tortured during tactical interrogation; 7) he was deprived of sleep, threatened, intimidated, coerced and forced to admit membership in the NPA; 8) the grenade subject of the case was planted; 9) the complaint against him was filed in court only after 72 hours and 30 minutes; and, 10) he was detained in a military camp, which is not of civilian jurisdiction.

Isaias, Acosta’s father, appealed to the DOJ to urgently resolve his petition while he is still confined at the NKTI. “We do not want him to go back to Calbayog for as long as he needs medical attention. We do not want him to return to a hostile environment where the whole military organization in the region, and even the provincial governor, deliberately ignored and actively blocked our requests for much-needed medical attention for my son.”

The campaign to free Ericson Acosta has been sustained for almost two years, gaining widespread local and international support from prominent artist and human rights organizations such as the Amnesty International, PEN International, Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, INTAL-Belgium, The International Conference for Progressive Culture-People’s Art Network, BAYAN, SELDA, UP Diliman University Council, Concerned Artists of the Philippines and even members and officials of the state’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

In November 2011, Acosta was named finalist of the Imprisoned Artist Prize at the Freedom to Create Awards Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, along with other nominees from Myanmar and Tibet. ###

Detained poet welcomes DOJ action, supporters to Sec. de Lima: FREE ACOSTA NOW!

ADVISORY:

Supporters of the FREE ERICSON ACOSTA CAMPAIGN will troop to the Department of Justice offices in Padre Faura, Manila, 10:00 am tomorrow (January 24) to push for Ericson Acosta's immediate release.

Photos: Artists visit Ericson Acosta at the NKTI

with National Artist for Literature and Philippine Center of International PEN Chairperson BIENVENIDO LUMBERA and PAO Chief PERSIDA V. RUEDA-ACOSTA

with rap artist BLKD

with First Quarter Storm activists 
Prof. JUDY TAGUIWALO, 
poet and songwriter JESS SANTIAGO, 
and screenwriter and actor 
BONIFACIO ILAGAN.

with social realist painter 
and former UP College of Fine Arts
Dean LEONILO DOLORICON

with stage and TV actor 
and Tanghalang Pilipino executive NANDING JOSEF 

with painters Johnny Manajo 
and Mideo Cruz















with actor and screenwriter 
BIBETH ORTEZA










Read the Philippine Daily Inquirer story : Finally, DOJ takes notice of poet-activist’s plea



Detained poet Ericson Acosta today welcomed DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima’s directive for the “immediate disposition” of the petition for review of his case.

The Justice chief promised immediate action in response to Acosta’s personal letter inviting her to a dialogue.

Until last Friday, Acosta has been detained at the Calbayog Sub-Provincial Jail while his petition for review at the DOJ has been pending for more than a year. Acosta was recently granted temporary release by the Gandara RTC in Samar on humanitarian grounds. He is currently confined at the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City while undergoing tests and treatment for a kidney ailment.

"I welcome Sec. Leila de Lima's directive. The resolution of my petition for review is awaited not only by myself but by my family, friends and supporters all over the world. My invitation to a dialogue with her still stands," Acosta said.

Acosta also thanked his supporters for their sustained campaigning and vigilance. “This latest development in my legal case is mainly due to the untiring support of my supporters. If not for them, the DOJ would not have taken notice.”

He also thanked his supporters for their alertness amid attempts by his BJMP guards to employ irrational and repressive measures during his confinement at the NKTI. Yesterday, his BJMP guards threatened to handcuff him to his bed but were stopped by quick action from his supporters and legal counsels.

According to the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign, the BJMP’s failure to further repress Acosta and terrorize visitors was an “initial victory”. “Still, the BJMP remains overzealous in restricting his privacy and rights. Visitors confirmed that the armed guards are the same ones that guarded Morong 43. These are not mere guards but professional bullies, our vigilance must be increased tenfold,” the group said.

The FEAC called on the DOJ to also immediately address and set parameters on the BJMP’s role at the NKTI. “They are tasked to guard and secure Acosta but they are the ones posing a threat to his security.”

Yesterday, at 6:00 in the afternoon, a certain Dr. Col. Mundin who introduced himself as a doctor of the BJMP unceremoniously barged into Acosta’s room and started asking about his medical condition. He was accompanied by two BJMP guards. He then showed a document and informed Acosta and his companions that other members of the “BJMP Health Team” are set to “do a series of tests” on him. Mundin again attempted to enter Acosta’s room today but was stopped by NKTI security.

“The BJMP has no business meddling into Acosta’s medical procedures. We expect the DOJ to put the BJMP in its place. The added stress and obvious ploys to harass him will only aggravate Acosta’s medical condition,” the FEAC said.

The FEAC, led by various artists, cultural workers and supporters, will stage a picket-rally at the DOJ tomorrow to call for the dismissal of Acosta’s case. ###

Ericson Acosta seeks dialogue with DOJ, supporters urge Sec. de Lima to free detained poet

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Lone jail officer flying back to Samar, court orders Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to take over political detainee Ericson Acosta's custody at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City.
Around 10 fully-armed personnel of the BJMP will return to Ericson Acosta's hospital room  11 am today to implement court order. Col. Joseph Vela informed  Ericson Acosta yesterday that he must be handcuffed to the hospital bed, visitors and personal companions will also not be allowed to use cellular phones, etc.
Acosta's supporters say there is no need for overkill security measures. Artists and supporters continue to visit detained cultural worker Ericson Acosta -- expected visitors today include actor Bibeth Orteza and painters' groups led by Mideo Cruz. 


MEDIA COVERAGE REQUESTED. WITH PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES. 

PRESS RELEASE: January 22, 2013

Reference:  Ericson Acosta, (confined at the NKTI)

Atty. Jun Oliva, National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) 09157707067

Ericson Acosta seeks dialogue with DOJ,

supporters urge Sec. de Lima to free detained poet  

While undergoing medical treatment at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), political prisoner Ericson Acosta has asked for a dialogue with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to seek the immediate resolution of his case.

Acosta, 40, a poet, songwriter and former editor of the UP Philippine Collegian, was arrested by the mlitary in San Jorge, Samar , February 13, 2011. He was interrogated and tortured inside a military camp for three days before a trumped-up charge of illegal possession of explosive was filed against him to justify his arrest and detention.

Acosta was granted temporary freedom by the local court in Samar for him to undergo medical treatment for his renal problems.  After 23 months at the Calbayog sub-provincial jail, Acosta went straight to the NKTI for treatment last Friday, January 18.  He was flown to Manila through the assistance of Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

“I was arrested without warrant by the military, tortured, tagged a terrorist and criminal, incarcerated for 23 long months – left to suffer while waiting for your good office to carry out a favorable resolution to the Petition for Review we filed in September 2011.”

“Why exactly is this resolution still pending?” read Acosta’s one-page letter to the Justice Secretary.

The campaign to free Ericson Acosta has been sustained for almost two years, gaining widespread local and international support from prominent artist and human rights organizations such as the Amnesty International, PEN International, Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, INTAL-Belgium, The International Conference for Progressive Culture-People’s Art Network, BAYAN,SELDA, UP Diliman University Council, Concerned Artists of the Philippines and even members and officials of the state’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).  In November 2011, Acosta was named finalist of the Imprisoned Artist Prize at the Freedom to Create Awards Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, along with other nominees from Myanmar and Tibet.

Acosta’s family and supporters are currently raising funds to shoulder costs of his hospitalization,  including expenses for  a scheduled operation to remove kidney stones,  and medicine.

Overkill Security Arrangement

Yesterday, around 10 armed personnel from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) arrived at Acosta’s hospital room and introduced themselves to be his new security detail. BJMP personnel will replace the lone jail officer from the Calbayog sub-provincial jail, who will be flying back to Samar tomorrow. Acosta’s visitors and friends expressed disappointment with the new rules including Acosta being handcuffed in bed, and not allowing his family or  paralegal companions to use cellular phones. 

“Ericson was temporarily released on humanitarian grounds. He stayed here for four days with only one security escort and there have been no problems with him entertaining dozens of visitors and supporters every day. He is not a criminal. The last thing he needs is an overkill of simple security arrangements, ” said UP Art Studies Prof. Roselle Pineda who was visiting Ericson when armed BJMP personnel arrived at the NKTI last night.   

“We hope that Sec. de Lima considers Ericson’s request so that she can see for herself what kind of person this government has wrongly imprisoned. Ericson should not be tied down anymore because he clearly does not want to escape justice. Ericson Acosta in fact is just waiting for justice to finally prevail, ” Pineda said.    

COMPEL THE DOJ TO FREE ERICSON ACOSTA NOW!

PHOTO: Ericson Acosta with 79-year-old father Isaias Acosta, who is also undergoing treatment for a spinal ailment. Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/K0E0EHyTFVk

Poet-songwriter Ericson Acosta, detained for 23 months at the Calbayog sub-provincial jail in Samar on trumped-up criminal charges, is undergoing medical treatment at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) through a court order.

ERICSON ACOSTA IS STILL NOT FREE. His Petition for Review, citing serious irregularities and human rights violations in the conduct of his arrest and detention, has been pending before the Department of Justice for more than a year.

Almost two years have passed since his illegal arrest on February 13, 2011 -- there is still no immediate favorable resolution in sight for Ericson's review petition. We need to urge DOJ Secretary de Lima to drop the trumped-up charges against Ericson Acosta.

The government is not obliged to shoulder his medical expenses at the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) since his medical check-up was granted by the court on account of a motion prepared by Ericson's lawyers.

Ericson's family needs to raise a substantial amount of money to cover his medical expenses, over and above his parents' who are themselves currently undergoing medical treatment for various ailments.

The Free Ericson Acosta Campaign enjoins your support in this very challenging phase of our campaign to free activist poet Ericson Acosta and all political prisoners.

FREE THE ARTIST!
FREE ERICSON ACOSTA NOW!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You may deposit your financial support may to this account:

Isaias Acosta
BDO The Block
SM City North branch
Savings Account # 0251065464

For international donations:

Isaias Acosta
BDO The Block
SM City North branch
Savings Account: 00-0251065464
Routing #: 021000089
Swiftcode: BNORPHMM

WRITE TO DOJ SECRETARY TO PRESS FOR ERICSON'S IMMEDIATE RELEASE


You may use this template to write to Secretary Leila de Lima:

____________________________________________________


Secretary Leila de Lima
Department of Justice
Padre Faura Street, Manila
PHILIPPINES



Secretary de Lima,


Ericson Acosta is a poet and cultural worker. He has dedicated his life to serving the people. He was arrested without warrant February 13, 2011 while conducting human rights research in Barangay Bay-ang, San Jorge, Samar. He was brought to a military camp where he was interrogated and tortured for three days, before he was levied with a trumped-up charge of illegal possession of explosive to justify his arrest and continued detention.

His arrest, torture and almost two years in detention have resulted in the deterioration of his health. After Ericson's current medical treatment at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, it will be unacceptable and lamentable for him to recover only to be brought back to the Calbayog Sub-Provincial Jail. We must put an end to this mockery of justice.

As citizens longing for justice, we await your prompt action on the Petition for Review of Acosta's case filed by his counsel, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) before the DOJ in September 2011. We respectfully urge your honorable office to set aside the earlier resolutions of the local prosecutor in Samar, and to effect Acosta's release with the withdrawal of the fabricated complaint against him as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,


Name______________________

Address____________________


____________________________________________________


FREE THE ARTIST! FREE ERICSON ACOSTA NOW!

Sign the online petition at change.org

http://www.change.org/petitions/release-detained-filipino-artist-ericson-acosta-now

Appeal to DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima

December 20, 2012

HON. LEILA DE LIMA

Secretary, Department of Justice

Manila, Philippines

Secretary de Lima,

I am Isaias P. Acosta, father of detained poet and activist Ericson L. Acosta. My son has been illegally detained at the Calbayog City sub-provincial jail in Samar for 22 months now. He was arrested without warrant by the Philippine army February 13, 2011 in San Jorge, Samar.

Madame Secretary, I am writing you once again to seek the immediate release of my son.

My wife and I are now both very old – my wife just turned 80 and I am turning 80 next year. We would willingly spend this coming Christmas with our son as we did last year, if not for our failing health. We may have but a few years left and our only wish is to see Ericson walk free again.

The serious irregularities and human rights abuses so evident in the conduct of Ericson’s arrest and detention urged us to file a Petition for Review before your good office, with high hopes for a swift, decisive and just resolution. We were even thankful then that Ericson’s unlawful arrest occurred under President Aquino’s new administration. We had nothing but optimism and faith in the President’s promise of justice and impartiality and his “daang matuwid” crusade.

But how long must we wait, Madame Secretary? It has been 22 months and we are still waiting in vain. 

It has been more than a year since we filed our Review Petition in September 2011 – and the DOJ resolution remains pending. The standard 60 days of waiting have now stretched into 446 tortuous days. This has been punctuated by two more motions to seek the immediate resolution of the original Petition; dozens of letters of appeal and thousands of petition signatures gathered from various activities of concerned organizations and supporters from all over the world; and three week-long hunger strikes by Ericson – not a line or page of any formal opposition from Ericson’s military accusers, yet the Justice department still cannot issue a resolution. Why does it now seem that this government cannot swiftly dispense justice?

The grave injustice of Ericson’s unwarranted arrest, torture and incarceration torments us each day he remains in prison. Ericson has been languishing in jail without due process and far longer than warranted by the country’s own laws. My son is in effect rendered de facto “criminal” and “terrorist” by the military, and sadly, by the President’s own spokesperson who has declared that there are officially no political prisoners in the country. With these insensitive, irresponsible pronouncements, are we being made to accept that we have no choice but to be at the mercy of the military? This simply cannot be so, Madame Secretary.

The longer Ericson stays in prison, the more that we become direct witnesses, and, yes, victims, to injustice, serious threats and harassment.

This “terrorist” hysteria has been the military’s justification for the highly irregular deployment of 8^th Infantry Division troopers within the civilian sub-jail compound in Calbayog City. Ericson is regularly being subjected to intimidation and verbal abuse by young, sorry pawns in full-battle gear threatening that he is never safe from so-called “accidents” inside prison. His visitors and supporters likewise suffer harassment and undue surveillance, even after they leave the prison compound. This was the kind of hostile environment that we ourselves witnessed and experienced during our Christmas jail visit last year.

On July 2012, we filed a motion at the RTC Branch in Gandara, Samar requesting permission for Ericson to undergo immediate medical check-up after he complained of sharp pains while urinating. During a hearing in August, Ericson was ironically asked by the prosecutor to prove that he is indeed ill, for him to be allowed access to a proper medical facility. Unfortunately, our lawyers recently informed us that the RTC Judge has already denied our motion, without prejudice to the presentation of proof that Ericson is indeed ill.  

For several months now, we have been doing all within our means to have a private doctor check on Ericson but facilitating a doctor’s visit is extremely difficult for us financially and physically as we are also dealing with our own medical maladies. But above all other difficulties, we have to primarily deal with the very real but unspoken viciousness of military threats and harassment. It is precisely the fear of earning the ire of the military that has discouraged doctors from visiting Ericson. Arrested without committing any crime, tortured, locked-up, intimidated and denied medical attention – for how long must our son go through such cruel fate, Madame Secretary? 

On the mornings of October 24 and 25 this year, our driver received text messages saying that Ericson “is in danger..he might get killed on all souls day,” and warning that we, his parents, were also targets for assassination.

On November 2, the text threats warned that our house was already surrounded by assassins. We could have easily dismissed these messages as awful but harmless pranks but local human rights workers based in Calbayog City also received the very same messages.

Through Ericson's friends and supporters, we were able to report the incidents. But when authorities told us that more soldiers have been dispatched to the jail to assure Ericson's "safety," we were far from appeased. 

We are now more anxious and restless knowing too well that increased military presence in and around the sub-provincial jail is the primary threat to our son's life and well-being. 

It has been 22 months, Madame Secretary. 22 months of anguish and anxiety for us, his parents. 22 months of longing for Ericson to be reunited with own son and family. 22 months of disappointment and disillusionment for all his supporters around the world. 22 months of government neglect. 22 months of injustice. 

It has been more than enough.

(signed)

ISAIAS P. ACOSTA