Thread by @kapatidPP

After the tragic death of Reina Mae Nasino's 3-month old child, KAPATID pressed for her release to let her grieve the untimely demise of her firstborn and as a matter of justice as one of her counsels laid out the reasons why she does not deserve even a single day in prison.

“We appeal for the release of Reina Mae who lost her child without having the chance to see her alive for the last time. There is no reason for the courts to deny Reina Mae her right to visit the wake of her child and give her temporary freedom when it’s the least they can...

...do as an act of justice to redress the multiple injuries done to her, which include what could have been the preventable death of her child had a judge acted without bias,” said Fides Lim, the spokesperson of Kapatid.

According to Atty. Maria Sol Taule, a member of the National Union of People’s Lawyers which handles Nasino’s case, many irregularities taint the case that it’s alarming how it was able to sail through two judges. Following is the account of Taule on her Facebook page.

HERE'S WHY REINA MAE NASINO SHOULD NOT BE IN JAIL IN THE FIRST PLACE

Reina Mae Nasino and her two companions, Ram Carlo Bautista and Alma Moran, were arrested at the office of Bayan-Manila in Tondo during the wee hours of November 5, 2019 while they were sleeping.

Armed policemen barged inside the house under the authority of a search warrant issued by QC RTC Exec. Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert.

Villavert's issuance of search warrants is instrumental in the series of arrests of activists in Negros and NCR in October and November 2019.

Before the arrests, she was seen having a meeting with now NCRPO chief Debold Sinas, author of widespread killings and arrests in Negros during his stint as police chief in Central Visayas.

Nasino and her companions were later detained in the Manila City Jail. Nasino was already one-month pregnant at the time of the arrest.

WITCHHUNTING USING A DEFECTIVE SEARCH WARRANT

We noticed that the search warrant used in the search and arrest of Nasino et al. have serious defects. For one, the barangay indicated in the search warrant is different from the actual place of search.

The warrant also indicated that the place to be searched is situated in the corner streets of Flora and Clemente in Tondo, Manila.

However, upon ocular inspection of the area on February 29, 2020, we found out that the place of search is far from the description in the warrant. We prayed for the release of the records for the application of search warrants but we...

...have been ping-ponged by Judge Villavert and Judge Marivic Balisi Umali. We later asked the Office of the Court Administrator to allow us to have access to the records which we have not obtained until now.

We refused our clients to be arraigned under ludicrous trumped-up charges and undergo the tedious court processes, not to mention the humiliation of public trial for a crime they did not even commit.

MARRED WITH INCONSISTENCIES

The allegation of the officers in their affidavit of arrest and seizure is that Ram Bautista was caught in his room in possession of a hand grenade placed IN A WHITE CARTON BOX, INSIDE A BROWN PAPER BAG ON THE FLOOR, NEAR THE SINGLE BED MATTRESS.

The police officers are basically saying that they saw the firearms casually kept in the room like a stick of deodorant.

Police also said that they found Bautista keeping a .45 caliber and an M-16 under his single mattress bed in a small room (around 3x5 meters).

Common sense dictates that if the M-16, which is 39.5 inches long or so, is placed under a narrow mattress in a very small room, IT WILL BE VERY VISIBLE TO ANYONE.

The police are saying that they proceeded to look first for the grenade allegedly kept in the box and brown paper bag, just beside the mattress and they did not notice the protruding long firearms first which they said were kept under a mattress similar to a thin Uratex? Really?

As the incredible narration of the police continued, they said that they searched the room of Reina Mae and Alma, and there they also saw hand grenade, ammunition and .45 caliber on a plastic tray near the door.

Really, all those grenade and firearms were casually kept like a spare pack of sanitary napkin?

All these are LIES when in truth and in fact, a group of policemen initially barged inside already carrying firearms and explosives and proceeded to plant those in unlikely places.

After planting the evidence to justify the arrest, they called the barangay to witness the search and make it appear that the search is just about to start when they already went ahead inside the house to plant evidence.

ELUSIVE COMPASSION FOR REINA MAE AND BABY RIVER

While all of these is happening, Reina Mae gave birth to a baby girl on July 1, 2020. And since then, we have been struggling to plead before the court to allow her and Baby River to be together for at least 12 months for...

...exclusive breastfeeding. But the jail authorities would say that they do not have facilities and manpower for that, as if we are asking 10 helpers for Reina Mae and Baby River. And yes, the one who repeatedly denied us is a woman in robes, probably, also a mother.

THIS HAS BEEN THE PLIGHT OF POLITICAL PRISONERS WHO ARE DELIBERATELY PERSECUTED BY THE GOVERNMENT JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTIVISTS. THEY CONCOCT ALL SORTS OF LIES. AT TIMES, IT LEADS TO UNIMAGINABLE TRAGEDIES LIKE THE DEATH OF BABY RIVER. #JusticeForBabyRiver #FreeReinaMaeNasino