June 25, 2011 Worldwide prayer for all victims of torture, Prayers for Tatay Umbrero

In Commemoration
of the June 26  International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
We invite you to join us in a Worldwide prayer for all victims of torture.

 

June 25, 2011, Saturday

2:00 p.m.

Most Holy Trinity Parish, Balic-balic, Sampaloc, Manila

This is part of the “S.O.S. Free Tatay Umbrero Now! Free All Political Prisoners!” (Tatay Umbrero is a Political Prisoner suffering stage 4 Cancer)

Political Prisoners press for freedom for their ailing comrade after Araw ng Kalayaan

Political prisoners in New Bilibid Prison (NBP) pressed government to release their ailing comrade Mariano Umbrero in line with Independence Day.

Juanito Itaas, the longest held political prisoner, convicted for the killing of Col. James Rowe, through the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), a human rights group, is calling the attention of President Aquino and DOJ Secretary De Lima to urgently act on the release of Mariano Umbrero, a political prisoner at the New Bilibid Prison suffering stage 4 cancer.

Rights group urges gov’t to release cancer-stricken political prisoner - Nation - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

Rights group urges gov’t to release cancer-stricken political prisoner - Nation - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

As the government continues to look into the alleged VIP treatment of homicide convict former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste, a rights group asked President Benigno Aquino III to release an ailing political detainee.

The alleged VIP treatment given to Leviste by national penitentiary officials had urged the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) to call for the immediate release of political prisoner Mariano Umbrero, who is diagnosed with cancer.

“We pray for Umbrero’s health and that God may touch PNoy’s heart and convince him to exercise his power to grant executive clemency to Tatay Umbrero whose health is deteriorating rapidly," TFDP executive director Emmanuel Amistad said.

4 o’clock habit campaign: prayer/appeal for Umbrero’s release

Dear Friends,

The Task Force Detainees of the Philippines’ (TFDP) S.O.S. appeal campaign for the release of Mariano Umbrero, a political prisoner who has cancer, now in the fourth stage, started few months ago with the sending of an urgent appeal (letter of appeal) to various partners.  It was followed by an online barrage of appeals posted on Facebook.  This was done to call the attention of P-Noy and other concerned government agencies and for them to act on the case of Umbrero.  TFDP also directly sent a letter to the Office of the President, while the Medical Action Group (MAG) sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

As a result, students from the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, with the help of the Social Action Center responded by sending individual letters of appeal to government agencies.  The students asked their friends to do the same.  Members of ACAT, one of the TFDP’s international partners, also sent letters to P-Noy and DOJ.  Many friends on Facebook also responded by bombarding P-Noy’s Facebook page, as well as the page of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).  Communications were also sent to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Episcopal Commission on Prison and Pastoral Care of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

TFDP has already received some responses.  Both the DOJ and the DSWD referred the request to the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP).  The Office of the Political Adviser under the Office of the President also replied by asking us to provide them with  pertinent documents regarding Umbrero’s case.