Former political prisoners decry Senate reso on Duterte’s house arrest
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
04 October 2025
Reference: Bonifacio Ilagan, SELDA Spokesperson
Former political prisoners decry Senate reso on Duterte’s house arrest
The Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), an organization of former political prisoners, deplored the Senate‘s distorted sense of priorities as the latter passed a resolution calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to place Rodrigo Duterte on house arrest.
“The Senate shows more concern about Duterte, who is in a facility that adheres to international standards of detention,” said SELDA spokesperson Bonifacio Ilagan, “but says nothing about elderly and ailing political prisoners who are confined to crowded and cramped detention centers ill-equipped to address their medical concerns.”
“Contrary to claims that Duterte’s health concerns are being neglected,” said Ilagan, “he is in a facility that has a well-equipped medical unit staffed by a medical officer and assistant and is able to handle routine and emergency care. Detainees in need of more specialized care are referred to hospitals outside the facility. ICC detainees also have access to fresh air, exercise, spiritual guidance and occupational therapy.”
“On the other hand,” added Ilagan, “ailing and elderly political prisoners in the Philippines are confined to quarters with poor ventilation and are fed unpalatable prison rations with inadequate nutrition,” he added. “They also have to make do with the ridiculously low daily medical allowance of Php15.00.”
“On top of this,” decried Ilagan, “some elderly political prisoners have been placed in solitary confinement and deprived of sunning, exercise and socialization, in violation of the Mandela Rules mandating minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. One example is 74-year old Antonio Legaspi, who was found dead of a heart attack in his cell at the San Jose del Monte Male Dormitory on April 19, 2024.”
Legaspi was arrested in May 2023 with his wife, 81-year old Rosita Taboy, who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Currently the country’s oldest political prisoner, Rosita also suffers from diabetes and hypertension and has difficulty walking unaided.
Ilagan added that another ailing political prisoner of senior age is 78-year old Frank Fernandez, who suffers from uncontrolled hypertension stage 2, coronary artery disease, bilateral renal cysts, benign prostatic hypertrophy and chronic kidney disease secondary to hypertension.
Taboy and Fernandez are just two of about a hundred ailing political prisoners who are far more deserving of compassionate release, due to their unjust arrest and detention on trumped-up charges, stressed Ilagan. The Senate should get its priorities straight, he concluded.
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publi...@karapatan.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------
KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.