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 8th
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
