Over 700 political prisoners remain in various jails around Phl

Former political prisoners’ group Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) said

there are 757 political prisoners who are detained because of their political beliefs in various detention facilities around the country.

They include farmers, labor organizers, urban poor advocates, even media practitioners, educators, environmental defenders, human rights advocates, and peace workers, said former political detainee during Martial Law Bonifacio Ilagan who acts as SELDA spokesperson said. “These individuals have courageously stood for the Filipino people's rights and interests against exploitation and oppression,” he added. 

Ilagan said of the 757, 156 are women, 103 of whom are elderly. “These detainees face fabricated charges meant to silence dissent and intimidate government critics.”

SELDA named the eldest political prisoner is 79-year old Rosita Taboy, who lost her husband, Antonio Legaspi, who died of a heart attack in April 2024 while under solitary confinement, less than a year after their arrest.

Ilagan also said that there are 103 political prisoners who suffer from serious illnesses and urgently require medical attention.

The organization of former political detainees also claimed that there are 17 National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants in jail, including Simon “Ka Filiw” Naogsan, spokesperson of the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF), who was arrested on October 21, 2024.  Three days later, Ilagan claimed, on October 24, 2024, NDFP peace consultant Wigberto Villarico was arrested in Barangay Fairview, Quezon City, with his companion, Marjorie Lizada, in a raid by military and policemen.

SELDA last December 3, commemorated the “International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War”, calling all those imprisoned because of their beliefs called “prisoners of conscience” in the country as well as political prisoners and prisoners of war from Palestine, West Papua, South Molucca, Kurdistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Iran, Peru, Turkey, India and the United States.