NEWS RELEASE
December 6, 2010

Reference: Ms. France Castro

Secretary-General, ACT

Cellphone no. 09178502124

Mr. Benjie Valbuena

Vice Chairperson, ACT

Cellphone no. 09182399222

Teachers support Morong 43’s hunger strike, affirms its call for their immediate and unconditional release

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) supports the on-going hunger strike of political detainees led by the 43 health workers who were illegally arrested by the AFP last February 6, 2010 in Morong, Rizal.

ACT Secretary General France L. Castro condemns the Aquino administration’s inaction despite the overwhelming appeal of various sectors including the international community for the immediate and unconditional release of the 43 health workers.

“The President himself has admitted that the health workers’ arrest was ‘defective’, and yet he does not perform due measures to rectify such kind of illegal imprisonment,” said Castro. “As the leader of this country, P-Noy should always uphold human rights, but in this case, he has denied justice to the 43 health workers,” Castro added.

Reports reveal that the 43 health workers are currently suffering from physical and psychological torture and harassments from the military.

“We challenge President Aquino to resolve this matter in the soonest possible time as the International Human Rights Day is fast approaching,” Castro ended.

Meanwhile, ACT Vice Chairperson Benjamin Valbuena recalled a similar experience during the 1990’s wherein militant teachers also staged a hunger strike to demand justice for the illegally dismissed teachers who led a nation-wide protest for salary increases during Corazon Aquino’s term. “We also had the same form of protest during the 1990’s under then Education Secretary Ricardo Cariño,” Valbuena mused.

The hunger strike of the 43 health workers can be considered as a drastic effort demand immediate justice for being illegally detained.

Valbuena emphasized that the 43 health workers are just few of the victims of the US Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Program adapted by the Pnoy’s administration. “Nothing has changed. To date, Pnoy’s first s ix months in office, there were already 20 extra-judicial killings, 2 enforced disappearances, 16 torture victims and 23 illegally arrested based on KARAPATAN report,” Valbuena concluded. ###