Regarding Prisoners of war and Political Prisoners
By Katleah Iskre Ulrike
Last time, we heard about prisoners of war being freed after days of detainment in a zone controlled by their enemy. These people, composed of members of the Philippine military, were treated fairly and humanely according to the articles of war and of the iron discipline of their enemies that is, contrary to the atrocities happened amongst their own line.
These prisoners of war perhaps are lucky enough to be well fed, clothed, even finding time reading a newspaper and enjoy having a chitchat with a rebel contrary to a captured one suffering under solitary confinement and endure the physical and/or psychological torture inflicted upon to. Well... it obviously shows how the system itself doing the contrary while bannering that they are humane.
Since the current system didn't free any political prisoners, Isn't it unfair that they didn't do so while their enemy counterparts freed in a goodwill gesture? The capture of PO3 Sabatin, PO2 Tugade, M/Sgt. Mario Veluz, even Pfc El Bryan Cañedo of the Scout Ragers are being treated fairly well under the provisions of the laws given. Some of them were being freed, cleared, but as of Cañedo, still detained as the AFP itself, all in the guise of "rescue operations" and any other actions, still breached the ceasefire agreements still enacted after agreements.
To tell frankly that how come these soldiers, policemen end up freed while NDF's consultants, members of the New People's Army, and other political prisoners are still detained and endure the psychological torture? Jazmines hath been arrested lately, so was Ericson Acosta, and earlier, Tirso Alcantra. All of them are arrested due to alleged crimes, or in other words, arrested for being "subversives" so to speak. Regardless of the news about Ipong's release, it doesn't mean that the current administration would free its captives the way their enemies free their prisoners of war.
Nowadays, the negotiations are still ongoing, perhaps it also include the fate of political prisoners, prisoners of war so to speak, waiting for their release and continue the struggle for National Liberation. The release of the POWs under NPA custody may somewhat acting accordingly to the negotiations, and not as propaganda the way what the enemy tries to think of in it.
