Morong 43 ‘not health workers’

Authorities hearing the case of the “Morong 43” should give due consideration to recent findings of the Department of Health and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) that the detained individuals were not legitimate health workers.

“I think we should give due weight to these findings because these [Health department and PMA] are prestigious organizations,” deputy spokesman Gary Olivar told The Manila Times on Friday.

When asked if the Palace supports the continued detention of the Morong 43 by the military, Olivar said: “We leave it to the discretion of the courts. We don’t want to say more and it is up to the courts to decide on it.”

According to a press statement from the military, the representatives from the Health department led by Secretary Esperanza Cabral together with delegates from the PMA visited the base of the Second Infantry Division in Rizal on Thursday to check on the 43 detained individuals.

The Armed Forces said that the representatives from the Health department and the PMA confirmed that the 43 are not health workers but members of militant organizations.

The military added that all the operations it conducted on the arrest of the 43 were based on intelligence reports and did not violate their human rights.

The arrest of the Morong 43 sparked protests from various sectors who said that their arrest was illegal and that their human rights were violated. A petition for habeas corpus was eventually denied by the Court of Appeals. –ANGELO S. SAMONTE Reporter, Manila Times