Political prisoners in new Philippines

THIS past month, I have taken the time to write about this year’s SONA, the idea of a ‘new Philippines,’ and the things we need to do if we want good and impactful change in the Philippines.

One of the important issues I discussed was the release of all political prisoners. With red-tagging and trumped-up charges, the opposition are arrested despite fighting for freedom and justice. When people become political prisoners, they are further oppressed. Some are denied bail despite acquittal, some are denied their right to care for their newly-born baby, some suffer from worsening ailments and / or old age. Most detainees, not just political prisoners, suffer from the terrible conditions of the Philippine prison system.

They are overcrowded, and lack healthy meals as well as properly sanitized bathrooms. There are many political prisoners who have become sick, even sicker, or have passed away because of incarceration.

In fact, according to the CHR, these conditions are “short of meeting the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as well as the [Bureau of Jail and Management Penology’s] Manual on Habitat, Water, Sanitation and Kitchen in Jails.”

Additionally, there have been reports of torture and abuse of detainees despite the AntiTorture Law. These conditions as well as the clear repression done through this practice of jailing activists has led Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) to launch their campaign “Breaking chains, Reclaiming freedom from Marcos Sr. to Marcos Jr.” However, despite the hopes the president will at least acknowledge the existence of political prisoners or the problems within the prisons, we got nothing from SONA 2023. Despite the 778 political prisoners as of June 2023, the president chose to ignore them. In anticipation of this continued ignorance and to protest both their conditions and the current state of the Philippines, political prisoners from the Negros island did a 24-hour fast last July 24, 2023.

Of all the political prisoners in the country now, 139 or 20 percent of the total are in Negros island.

More than 100 political prisoners in Negros island participated.

The leader of a new Philippines would have acknowledged the political prisoners in the SONA

Political prisoners from Cebu City and at the Metro Manila District Jail Annex 4, Camp Bagong Diwa also did a protest fast in solidarity with the political prisoners from Negros island. They called Marcos Jr. to stop the extrajudicial killings of activists by state forces in its counter-insurgency drive in Negros In a statement, the Negros island political prisoners said that the EJKs, especially in the rural areas of Negros, increased during the first year of the Marcos Jr.

Around 30 percent of 60 victims of massacres since July 2022 were Negrense farmers according to Karapatan data.

They also demanded for the release of nine sick and elderly political prisons– namely 66-year old Epifanio Romano, 65-year old Diosdado Caballero, 63-year olds Sidwin Gordoncillo and Azucena Garubat, 61-year old Corazon Javier, and 60-year olds Nilda Bertolano, Andres Pasyonela and Abraham Villanueva, as well as Lindy Perocho.

This shows the political prisoners’ dedication to their fight for freedom and justice. Despite mistreatment, they still find a way to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized.

Unfortunately, the mistreatment of political prisoners, together with common criminals, has been common even before Marcos Jr.’s administration. In the early days of COVID-19, there was a call for the release of all political prisoners because of the virus’ outbreaks in congested prisons. Given that the Philippine jails are overcrowded, according to ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy, “609 political prisoners are already facing their death sentence.”

During the rare times that political prisoners are allowed to temporarily leave detention for health concerns, they are still dehumanized.

Frank Fernandez who suffered bouts of unconsciousness was brought to the hospital but was constantly handcuffed to his bed. Bernabe Ocasla also suffered multiple heart attacks and died handcuffed to the hospital bed. His daughter asked that they be removed but the guards refused.

In 2019, Leila De Lima also wrote a statement to condemn the visitation ban for political prisoners’ families during the Christmas season.

Apparently, loved ones of political prisoners at the time were barred from visiting.

One of them was the wife of Vic Ladlad, Fides Lim who protested because she was not allowed to bring her husband food and medicines.

All of these compounding dehumanizing circumstances experienced by the political prisoners and their loved ones prove that we are extremely far from a ‘new Philippines.’

The new Philippines will not have political prisoners at all because people who fight for freedom and justice will be honored instead of jailed. The leader of a new Philippines would have acknowledged the political prisoners in the SONA.

Singapore races to save ‘Garbage of Eden’

SINGAPORE—Visitors to the island hosting

Singapore’s only landfill might expect foul odors and swarms of flies, but instead they are greeted with stunning views of blue waters, lush greenery and wildlife. Welcome to Pulau Semakau, the landscarce city’s eco-friendly trash island, where ash from the incinerated garbage of its nearly six million people is dumped.

With just over a decade to go until the site is projected to be filled, the government is in a race against time to extend the lifespan of the island landfill, so serene it has earned the moniker “Garbage of Eden.”

“This is the only landfill in Singapore, and due to the small area and the competing land needs, it is difficult to find another location,”

Desmond Lee, the landfill manager at the National Environment Agency (NEA), which oversees the island, tells AFP.

“It is imperative that we continue to use the Semakau landfill for as long as possible, and if possible extend its life beyond 2035,” he says.

‘Massive waste’

Singapore generated 7.4 million tons of waste last year, of which about 4.2 million tonnes, or 57 percent, was recycled.

Plastics remain a sticking point for the island’s waste drive, with just 6 percent recycled last year. Food waste, of which 18 percent was recycled, also poses a problem. Environmental group Greenpeace criticized the city-state for producing a “massive” amount of waste for its size.

In 2019, the government launched a “zerowaste” campaign seeking to boost the amount of recycled waste to 70 percent and slash the amount of trash dumped at Semakau by 30 percent before the end of the decade.

Roughly the size of New York City, Singapore has carefully managed its rapid growth in recent decades to avoid the problems faced by other fast-developing Asian metropolises, such as overcrowding and undisposed garbage.

The government built the offshore landfill after an inland waste depot began running out of space in the early 1990s.

Engineers merged Semakau—whose residents had earlier been resettled to the mainland—with the nearby island of Pulau Sakeng.

A seven-km perimeter bund was constructed to enclose part of the open sea between the two islands and create space for the landfill, which began operating in 1999.

Pollution risks

With Singapore’s population growing steadily, authorities were forced to roll out bold, space-saving solutions.

Mangrove forests have also been planted, making the island verdant and attracting wildlife

Incinerators were deployed to burn nonrecyclable waste, before authorities shipped the ash to Semakau on a covered barge.

But the practice of burning the rubbish has been criticized by environmental groups for its pollution.

“The process results in pollution in each of its phases -- from waste hauling to managing air emissions and residues,” Abigail Aguilar, Greenpeace’s anti-plastics campaigner for Southeast Asia, told AFP.

“While aesthetically it might be appealing, the landfill still contains waste that could potentially leak,” said Aguilar.

The NEA has said its incineration plants are fitted with treatment systems that clean the gas before they are released into the atmosphere.

It added that the landfill had been lined with an impermeable membrane and marine clay to contain any potential pollution within the site, and the water is tested regularly for leakage. Eco island

There could still be more use for Singapore’s garbage island, with plans to build solar farms and also to turn ash from the landfill into road construction materials.

After the barge docks on Semakau, earthmovers scoop the ash and load them onto giant yellow tipper trucks for the trip to the landfill, which has been subdivided into sections.

As each pit is progressively filled up over the years, the area is covered with soil, allowing for the growth of natural vegetation. Mangrove forests have also been planted, making the island verdant and attracting wildlife.

During a recent visit by an AFP team, a couple of brahminy kites were seen swooping down on the water to catch fish, while a whitebellied sea eagle circled above.

Red-wattled lapwings made bird calls on the edge of a mangrove patch and little terns maneuvered above a filled-up pit. A family of grebes swam on a pond, its dike lined with coconut trees. AFP