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KAIROS Calls for the Release of 43 Illegally Detained Health Workers in the Philippines

March 8, 2010

By pwrdf

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KAIROS:  Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives calls for the release of 43 medical and health workers in the Philippines who were arrested on February 6th of this year in Morong, Rizal.  The 43 medical and health workers were participating in a health training sponsored by the Community Medicine Foundation, Inc., and the Council for Health and Development, when 300 soldiers arrested them.
KAIROS is gravely concerned about the conduct of the arrest.  Furthermore, we wish to convey our indignation about the torture and indignities to which the 43 arrested medical and health workers continue to be subjected to.  Dr. Alex Montes, a 62-year old surgeon and long time staff member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines was among the 43 illegally arrested medical and health workers.  According to Romeo Capulong, head of the Public Interest Law Centre representing the 43 detainees, Dr. Montes was subjected to electric shocks, blindfolded and handcuffed for 36 hours and was made to drink water laced with chemicals that made him numb.
The recent illegal arrest and detention of the 43 medical and health workers follows a counterinsurgency program instituted by the military which threatens progressive individuals and groups that criticize the Philippine government on economic and political policies.  KAIROS and other international organizations are concerned that these gross violations of Filipino peoples human rights will frighten people away from participating in the coming national elections.
We join the voices of partners in the Philippines, families and friends of the detained 43 medical and health workers, and local, national and international human rights organizations in calling on the Government of the Philippines to:
• Immediately and unconditionally release the 43 detained medical and health workers;
• Ensure the safety of these detainees, provide unlimited access to their family members and legal counsel while in custody of the military; and
• Conduct an impartial investigation into the legality of their arrest and detention, and the allegation of torture and indignities inflicted on them while in detention. Furthermore, we join with other KAIROS members in calling on the Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to protect citizens from persecution, intimidation and violence directed against opposition groups, and ensure that the coming national election in May is not marred by violence and fraud.
We join the international community in calling the Government of the Philippines to implement the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial killings and Summary executions, Philip Alston which seeks to end human rights violations in the country.
For more information contact Connie Sorio
Asia-Pacific Partnerships Program Coordinator[email protected]

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