Legarda hailed the release of Morong 43 tagged by the AFP as CNN

By Jason de Asis

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, December 19, 2010-Senator Loren Legarda, who is a staunch advocate of human rights yesterday hailed  the release of the forty-three health workers, known as ‘Morong 43’, who were earlier arrested by the military on allegations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that they were members of the CNN-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA), and National Democratic Front (NDF) after the courts acted in haste over the executive’s order to withdraw the cases filed against them.

Legarda has been monitoring the condition of the ‘Morong 43’ and call on the government’s attention to look into their plight especially those concerning the detainees’ rights, adding that their release is timely as the yuletide season comes and the country’s commitment showed their respect for human rights.

The Senator urged the previous administration to look into allegations of torture and sexual molestation of the health workers who were then under the custody of the military after the days of their arrest, furthered that she also appealed to the judiciary to allow one of the detainees, Judilyn Oliveros, to be allowed to nurse her new born baby in a hospital facility.

Legarda is hoping that the government will continue to look into the conditions of other political detainees and other prisoners as well as in ensuring that the Morong rights are not being curtailed.

“This is the obligation of the government,” Legarda said, adding that to respect human rights is vital for the citizenry.

It could be remembered last week that the Senator visited the health workers at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City where they were detained. She was concerned with their health condition because they went through a hunger strike in protest for their continued detention.

Meanwhile, the AFP firmly stands in their validations that the ‘Morong 43’ are all communist groups. (Jason de Asis)