Political Prisoner Remains in Jail Despite Court’s Dismissal of Cases

MANILA — “How can we claim to be under a democracy when a political prisoner continues to languish in jail even as all the trumped-up charges filed against her have already been dismissed?”

This is the question foremost in the mind of the relatives and colleagues of Elizabeth Principe, who remains detained at Camp Crame a week after her release had been ordered by the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in Nueva Vizcaya. On July 6, the court dismissed the robbery with murder case — the last of six charges filed against Principe– for lack of probable cause.

All other cases against Principle that were filed in Cauayan, Isabela; Dupax, Nueva Vizcaya and Candon, Ilocos Sur were earlier dismissed, according to the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (Selda).

Principe, a health worker in Cagayan Valley and consultant for the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace talks with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), was abducted by five elements of the Military Intelligence Group on Nov. 28, 2007 in Cubao, Quezon City. For three days, she was handcuffed, blindfolded, heavily interrogated and kept incommunicado. She was presented to the media as a high-ranking member of the New People’s Army (NPA) before being transferred to Camp Crame, the police headquarters. Full article