Press Release
May 21, 2014

An appeal for compassion to prosecutors, authorities
Let Ka Andrea say her final goodbyes to her child--Nancy

Senator Nancy Binay appealed to authorities to reconsider its decision and to allow detained political prisoner Andrea Rosal to attend the burial of her newborn baby, who died two days after being born.

"I personally appeal for compassion and plead the government prosecutors, the court, and authorities to grant her that motherly wish and allow her to bury her child," the lady senator said.

Binay said she grieves for Rosal, the daughter of the late New People's Army (NPA) spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal, whose appeal to go to the burial of her child Diona Andrea was denied by the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

The burial was set in Rosal's hometown of Ibaan, Batangas.

The court, however, gave Rosal three hours to visit her daughter's burial in the Iglesia Filipina Independiente church in Taft Avenue.

Rosal was seven months' pregnant when she was arrested with a male companion last March in Caloocan City.

The lady senator also appealed for compassion for Andrea and "allow her to perform the duties of a parent for the last time."

Binay likewise pointed out the government's "unequal and lopsided treatment" afforded to political prisoners, especially to pregnant women like in the case of Andrea.

"This is clearly in contrast to the VIP treatment some prisoners and influential detainees receive from the government, who provide security escorts and allow the prisoner to seek outside medical care," she said.

Binay said she plans to call for a review of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology 's (BJMP) existing policies and protocols regarding women detainees.

"We must review whether the existing policies and protocols of the BJMP regarding women detainees, especially their access to medical care and facilities, are still relevant with the times," Binay said.

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