Tinio calls for immediate release of elderly, sick political prisoners, hits 'brazen double standard' in justice system amid Revilla bail

ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio today called for the immediate release of elderly and ailing political prisoners, citing the stark and brazen double standard in the Philippine justice system that favors wealthy and powerful political figures while leaving activists to die behind bars.

Tinio issued the statement in support of the petition for the writ of habeas corpus filed before the Supreme Court by Fides Lim, wife of 77-year-old political prisoner Vicente Ladlad, who has been detained for nearly eight years on trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

“The starkness of the double standard in the Philippine justice system is so brazen. When a former senator like Bong Revilla is allowed bail, the system bends over backwards to accommodate him. But when an elderly, sick activist like Vic Ladlad—someone who has difficulty walking and breathing, someone who has been rushed to the hospital multiple times while in detention—seeks the same humanitarian consideration, the system turns a blind eye,” Tinio said.

Lim, accompanied by lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), filed the petition on Friday, urging the Supreme Court to order Ladlad’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds. Ladlad, a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, suffers from multiple life-threatening conditions, including asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and severe hearing loss, among others.

FLAG lawyer Michael de Castro raised the same point, asking: “If this was allowed for Gigi Reyes, if this was allowed for Juan Ponce Enrile, why can’t it be allowed for people like us? Why can’t it be allowed for Vic Ladlad?”

Enrile was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2015 on humanitarian grounds at the age of 91, while his former chief of staff, Gigi Reyes, was granted a writ of habeas corpus in 2023 after the high court ruled her nine-year detention as “vexatious, capricious and oppressive.”

Tinio echoed the petition’s argument that Ladlad is similarly situated and that there is no reason the Supreme Court cannot rule the same for him. Like Enrile and Reyes, Ladlad is not a flight risk, having always complied with court orders and never jumping bail across multiple detentions over the course of decades.

“The Supreme Court itself has acknowledged that vexatious, capricious, and oppressive detention warrants release. Vic Ladlad has been detained for nearly eight years, with delays attributable to the prosecution—judges and prosecutors on leave, failure to bring evidence to court, COVID-19 quarantine cancellations. If that is not vexatious and oppressive, what is?” Tinio said.

The ACT Teachers solon also warned that Ladlad’s continued detention without adequate medical attention is tantamount to a death sentence.

“His wife fears bringing him home in a coffin. To insist on his continued detention without bail is a de facto death sentence. How many more elderly political prisoners must suffer the same fate before this government acts?” Tinio said.

Tinio called on the Supreme Court to act swiftly on Ladlad’s petition and for the Marcos administration to immediately release all elderly and sick political prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

“The right to life and humane treatment must not be reserved only for the rich and powerful. Political prisoners like Vic Ladlad, who have spent their lives fighting for the rights of the Filipino people, deserve no less than the same compassion and consideration that this justice system so freely gives to the likes of Enrile and Revilla,” Tinio ended.