River of rage runs through baby’s funeral
Even though it was their last time together, political detainee Reina Mae Nasino could not even hug River, her 3-month-old daughter, who was laid to rest in Manila on Friday afternoon, more than a week after the baby died of pneumonia in a hospital.
At the funeral home in Pandacan and later at Manila North Cemetery, Nasino was closely guarded by around 20 policemen and employees of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) who refused to remove her handcuffs despite pleas from her mother, Marites Asis, and a priest.
Nasino, however, seemed undaunted by the government forces surrounding her, judging by her last words to River, whom she last saw in August after a local court ordered her to turn the baby over to her mother.
“Pinagkaitan tayo na magkasama. Hindi ko nakita ang halakhak mo. Lalaya akong mas matatag. Hindi tayo dito nag-iisa. Panandalian lang pagdadalamhati natin. Maghahanda tayo para sa pagbabalikwas natin. Babangon tayo (We were denied a chance to be together. I did not see you laugh. Once free, I’ll be stronger. We are not alone; our grief only momentary. We will prepare to spring back. We will rise up.),” she said as she stood before River’s coffin.
‘A big show’
Earlier, Kapatid, a group advocating prisoners’ welfare, asked the police and the BJMP to extend some respect to the bereaved family by allowing them to grieve in private.
“You only bury your dead once. Do not rob Nasino of her last three hours to grieve in peace ... You made a big show of enclosing her from head to toe in full [personal protective equipment] regalia even if her close-in escorts were not, but remove the handcuffs,” said Fides Lim, Kapatid spokesperson. Her plea fell on deaf ears.
Kapatid claimed that even the funeral procession was “hijacked” as the hearse driver, who was taking orders from the police, drove off in a hurry, leaving the family members and other attendees chasing after the vehicle.
Nasino was initially granted a three-day furlough but this was cut down to just two days, at three hours each, after the Manila City Jail female dormitory warden said they did not have enough personnel to escort her.
On Oct. 14, Nasino’s allotted time to visit her baby’s wake was cut short by almost an hour after jail guards took her away. She was also barred from answering questions from the media even though there was no such prohibition mentioned in the court order granting her a furlough.
SWAT thrown in
Asis said she did not expect that police forces would interfere during the burial of her granddaughter.
“What we need now is to grieve in peace, without force, without violence. What I see now is that there is no longer respect,” she said in a video broadcast by human rights alliance group Karapatan.
But an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the inclusion of a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team in the security force deployed to the funeral was just proper as the event had become a “major public issue.”
Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing denied observations that the security arrangements amounted to “overkill.”
“It’s more anticipative rather than being overkill,” Densing said at the televised Laging Handa briefing.
The police were not just concerned about security, but also about ensuring that pandemic health protocols were followed, he said. “Since it’s a major issue that’s being talked about in the past few days, we anticipated that people would flock to it.”
It was better for the police to be prepared rather than to be caught off-guard, he added, stressing: “That was just appropriate.”
Two opposition senators, however, criticized the government for its lack of compassion.
“Only the heartless snatch a newborn baby away from her mother,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros said in a statement.
“The government just let Baby River die,” she said, lamenting how Nasino “was denied even until the last moments to be with her child.”
“Why were 40 guards needed to escort a handcuffed grieving mother and her baby who is dead?” Hontiveros said.
“If cruelty is always our answer to the people’s grievances in the middle of the worst crisis, Reina Mae’s plight is also the plight of the entire nation,” she added.
“The real indicator of who we are as a nation is if we can still offer even our worst critics compassion,” Hontiveros said.
Meant to silence
Sen. Leila de Lima said Nasino’s mistreatment was meant to “silence her from speaking truth instead of protecting her.”
“Shortened furlough. Multiple jail guards. Head to toe in full set of personal protective equipment. Shackles on her wrists. No media interviews. Let’s not fool ourselves. The dozens of heavily armed escorts tasked to secure Reina Nasino were not there to protect and ensure her safety, as they claimed,” De Lima said.
The 23-year-old Nasino was among the activists arrested in late 2019 during a massive crackdown on progressive groups.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group caught her and two other activists allegedly keeping unlicensed firearms and ammunition, as well as a hand grenade. Her lawyers, however, claimed the evidence had been planted.
Custody plea
Nasino gave birth to River at Fabella Hospital on July 1. A petition was later filed for them to remain in the hospital or in a nursery to be set up at the Manila City Jail until the baby turned a year old.
Denying the petition, Manila Judge Marivic Balisi-umali ordered the mother to turn over her baby to the father or a relative. On Aug. 13, River was placed in the custody of Asis.
The baby was hospitalized for diarrhea and a fever on Sept. 24. She died of pneumonia at the Philippine General Hospital on Oct. 9 while Nasino still had a plea pending in Umali’s court seeking permission to see River.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the treatment of Nasino showed the “double standards” of the justice system.
“Her case is in stark contrast to other VIPS who did not have to endure handcuffs and other inhumane treatment during their furloughs,” Reyes said.
Following reports of abuses, the Commission on Human Rights said on Friday that persons deprived of liberty (PDLS) should still be treated with respect and dignity. Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said that PDLS should not be subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment.
“We remind the government that, at this point, Nasino remains to be an accused and thus, still presumed to be innocent until proven guilty,” De Guia added.
Who to blame
For another DILG official, “leftist groups” were to blame for the tension that arose between BJMP guards and Nasino’s family during her visit to River’s wake on Wednesday.
Interior Undersecretary and DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the BJMP officers who escorted the detainee that day “were insulted, harassed and verbally abused by leftist groups aligned with Ms Nasino.”
“[They] suddenly vented their ire on the BJMP officers who were just doing their job,” Malaya said in a statement.
“What was supposed to be a solemn occasion for a mother to peacefully grieve the death of her daughter was intentionally turned into a media spectacle at the clear instigation of these leftist groups,” he added.
Based on reports from Nasino’s attorneys from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, she was prevented by her jail guards from talking to media. They also attempted to cut short her already limited furlough by trying to remove her from the wake before the 4 p.m. deadline that was earlier agreed upon.
According to Malaya, while the DILG “commiserates and condole” with Nasino, it condemns the acts of these leftist groups.