Filipinos from U.S., Canada and PH demand ‘Free All Political Prisoners’ in online concert

Filipinos from U.S., Canada and PH demand ‘Free All Political Prisoners’ in online concert

Fides Lim, KAPATID spokesperson

Pamaskong Handog

By Lara Maestro

Last December 5th, people from across Canada, the US, and the Philippines came together for an afternoon of pre-recorded cultural performances and speeches in support of political prisoners in the Philippines. Held two days after the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, the event “comes at a time of unprecedented human rights violations when the process of remembrance and solidarity is imperative,” in the words of Fides Lim, spokesperson for KAPATID – Families and Friends of Political Prisoners, the event’s beneficiary organization.

The virtual “Zoom-a-thon” organized by Malaya Canada aimed to support political prisoners and their families, raise awareness of their plight, and call for their humanitarian release. Donors paid tickets of $10 and were provided with information through the website  https://malaya-xmas.carrd.co on what their $10 donation could buy.

Malaya convenors appealed for donations throughout the program. Mila Bongco, convenor with Malaya Alberta, delivered her “mensahe ng pakikibaka at suporta sa lahat ng naghahangad at lumalaban para sa hustisya, katarungan, kapayapaan, at malinis na pamumuno ng gobyerno sa Pilipinas.”

For four hours, the attendees were entertained by artists from around the world, as well as cultural performances from BAYAN Canada organizations. Filipino artists from Canada included Janet Lumb from Montreal, Bandang UPPERCASE, Han Han from Toronto, Levy Abad from Winnipeg, Koro Filipino from Edmonton, and Raffy Swap One from Vancouver. Artists from the Philippines and the US included Danny Fabella, Edge Uyanguren, musicians of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and ABS-CBN,14 Strings! Rondalla from Cornell University, and Larissa and Amanda Maestro-Scherer.

Individuals and representatives of Filipino and allied organizations delivered greetings, highlighted specific cases of political prisoners, and emphasized the impact of solidarity on political prisoners facing isolation under the pandemic. Sulong UBC, a youth and student organization from Vancouver, told the story of Karina Dela Cerna, a student activist from the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates – Youth who has been imprisoned since 2019. Linda Echanis, wife of recently-slain peasant leader Randy Echanis, sent a message about the recent illegal arrest of her daughter Amanda and her one-month-old grandson, Randall Emmanuel.

Keynote speaker Fides Lim spoke about her detained husband NDF consultant Vic Ladlad, Amanda Echanis, and Reina Mae Nasino, an urban poor organizer whose baby tragically died after being separated from her care. Fides reminded everyone of  how personal the issue of political prisoners is to the audience, many of whom shared experiences of visiting loved ones in prison, or of being political prisoners themselves. Well-known scriptwriter Ricky Lee, a political detainee during the Marcos dictatorship, thanked  Malaya Canada, saying “Napakalaking bagay ng ginagawang proyektong ito ng Malaya Movement Canada para sa mga political detainees, lalong-lalo na ngayong Pasko, na kinakailangang magtulungan at magdamayan tayo mga Pilipino.”

Mila Garcia, a nursing mother herself when she was a detainee wrote: “Damang-dama ko ang kalagayan ninyo ngayon kasi isa rin akong nursing mother sa bilangguan noong martial law, kasama ng isa pang ina…. Magkasakit man ang aming mga sanggol ay gumagaling kahit papaano dahil sa gatas at kakaibang paglingap ng isang ina. Hinahangad namin na makalaya kayong sabay sa lalong madaling panahon. Mabuhay ka!”

Olivia Camacho, convenor from Malaya Toronto, wrote: “To all our political prisoners, hindi kayo nag-iisa, lalo na ngayong Pasko. Narito kaming mga kapatid at kabisig ninyo – para sa katarungan at kalayaan.”

Messages, well wishes, and the generous donations collected will go to KAPATID. Malaya Canada surpassed its goals, enabling it to provide much-needed food, clothing, toiletries, and PPE for political prisoners and their families. Donations are still open, so visit https://malaya-xmas.carrd.co to find out how you can support this campaign.

Throughout the program, the call was made to free all political prisoners whose only “crime,” explained Rev. Patricia Lisson of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines- Canada, was “speaking out and challenging the government on their record of human rights violations, killing with impunity, red-tagging.” With the UN urging governments to release political prisoners during the pandemic, and Philippine jails ranking among the world’s most congested, it is critical to raise this call to release the political prisoners immediately. Melle Lugod, convenor from Malaya Quebec, summed it up simply:

“Free all political prisoners NOW!!”