Women political prisoners prove Duterte’s misogyny

CHEERS TO Bulatlat for calling attention to one more aspect of the country’s failed penal system. Its two-part special report revisited a long-standing issue:  the plight of women political prisoners. It related the travails of two women who were detained on fabricated charges during the Duterte administration. The series featured their experiences, from their arrest to their release. The report also connected then President Duterte’s misogyny to the highest number of women political prisoners since Martial Law.

The June 30 report by Gabryelle Dumalag, Ella Laguna, and Luisa Sandoval cited statistics provided by Karapatan, an NGO focused on human rights, that showed that 70 percent of political prisoners were arrested during the previous administration. Karapatan condemned the Duterte administration’s “sexist rhetoric” and contempt for women dissenters which, in their view, led to more women victims of “human rights violations and judicial harassment.” 

Political prisoners are persons arrested and detained for their political activities or beliefs. Cora Agovida and Lady Ann Salem were only two of the 117 women political prisoners arrested during Duterte’s watch. Prior to her arrest in 2019, Agovida led community discussions on violence against women and children for Gabriela, a national NGO focused on women’s issues. Salem, arrested in 2020, is a journalist working for the independent news publication, Manila Today. Both were accused of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Those charges were dismissed in 2021. 

The two former political detainees recounted their firsthand experience in the dismal living conditions typically endured by persons deprived of liberty (PDLs). Overcrowded facilities, poor sanitation, lack of privacy, and inadequate access to basic necessities like water have been consistently blamed on budget constraints by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). However, the article pointed out the near-triple increase of the BJMP budget during the Duterte administration—from PHP 8 billion to PHP 21 billion. In Salem’s case, PDLs were forced to raise their own funds to keep their cells clean, a critical necessity because of the threat of COVID-19.

In addition, Agovida and Salem had to contend with political persecution and discrimination. Agovida was prevented from interacting with other PDLs and participating in their activities. Other PDLs were instructed not to talk to her and when BJMP officials learned that she had been elected “cell paralegal” as part of an extracurricular activity, they demanded her replacement. Jail guards also red-tagged Agovida. They played a video from the National Task Force to End Local Communist and Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that called Gabriela a “front” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The accounts of Agovida and Salem contradict the BJMP’s claim that it adheres to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. 

The article also described how Agovida and Salem decided not to return to their homes after their release because they feared for the safety of their families. They have since resumed the work they had left behind. 

Duterte himself may no longer be in politics but journalists should not stop evaluating, interpreting, and investigating his performance. Documents should be preserved for reference and as evidence of executive culpability. Media’s short memory could easily cause greater injustice and impunity in the wake of his formal exit from power.