MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 18, 2014) – A Filipino human rights organization Karapatan on Sunday blamed the Philippine military and jail authorities for the death of the newborn baby of a detained woman accused by the Manila as a member of the communist rebel group New People’s Army.
It said the two-day old baby Diona Andrea Rosal died due to hypoxemia or oxygen deficiency in the blood. “Since her birth, she was on artificial respirator and experienced seizures,” it said, adding the infant died at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Philippine General Hospital in Manila.
The baby’s mother, Andrea Rosal, was seven months pregnant when security forces arrested her on March 27 this year in Caloocan City. Her father, Gregorio Rosal, a senior NPA leader, died of heart attack on June 22, 2011.
Authorities said Rosal, who is a senior rebel leader in Luzon, is facing a string of criminal charges.
Karapatan said Rosal experienced premature contractions during detention in Camp Bagong Diwa in Quezon City. It said she did not receive any medical attention from jail authorities during her detention and that her transfer to the Philippine General Hospital was in accordance to a court order issued for her immediate hospitalization.
It said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology deliberately delayed Rosal’s transfer to the hospital despite her pleas. Rosal was pleading to be taken to hospital because of severe contractions since May 15, but jail officials only brought her to hospital the next evening and on May 17 she gave birth.
“We find the BJMP authorities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and all government agencies responsible for the illegal arrest and detention of Andrea Rosal and accountable for the death of Diona Andrea and the situation of Andrea.”
“Their blatant disregard of the rights of Andrea, including her rights to receive immediate medical care and to be in an environment conducive for conceiving and delivering a healthy child, are apparent in this case. Ang gobyernong ito ay walang puso para sa mga ina at anak tulad ni Andrea at Diona Andrea,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary-General, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Palabay said Rosal’s lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers have filed urgent motions for the dismissal of the fabricated charges against her, including her immediate hospitalization.
Rosal has denied all accusations against her. There was no immediate statement from the military and jail authorities about the accusations of Karapatan. (Mindanao Examiner)
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