By RONALYN V. OLEA
“It is unbelievable that Aquino cannot do anything [on the case of the Morong 43],” Jose V. Cabrera, member of the board of governors of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), said.
Bulatlat.com Despite the intensifying persecution of health workers in the Philippines- the most prominent and recent victims of which are 43 health workers who are still languishing in prison today- health professionals and volunteer Community Health Workers (CHWs) from all over the country gather in an assembly “meant to reaffirm their dedication and commitment to…
Media Release 21 March 2010 There is no official statement from either the Department of Health or the Philippine Medical Association stating that the 43 detainees are not health workers. According to Health Alliance for Democracy, neither the DOH nor the PMA has made any such statement and that once again, the desperate Armed Forces…
News Release March 5, 2010 Lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), representing the 43 health workers illegally arrested and detained in Rizal who are collectively known as the “Morong 43”, today blocked an attempt by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to have them…
By MARYA SALAMAT
Volunteer medical doctors for the “Free the 43 Health Workers” movement decried the military’s refusal to let them examine the detained health workers. They repeatedly requested, with the lawyers and family members, the camp authorities to let them see the detainees but they were rebuffed nine times.
PRESS RELEASE February 28, 2010 The International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) reiterates its strong denunciation of the illegal arrest, continued illegal detention, coninuing physical and spychological torture, harassment and inhuman treatment of forty-three (43) Philippine health workers who were abducted by the Philippine military in the morning of February 6, 2010 in Morong,Rizal, Philippines. …
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Before the Morong 43, community doctors and health workers serving in rural areas have been the targets of attacks that range from murder, assassination attempts, raid and strafing to filing of fabricated charges and other forms of harassment.
By ARNOLD PADILLA
In a poor country where one out of two people dies without receiving any medical attention, where more than half of the population do not have access to basic health care, community-based health workers who provide needed services to fill this health-care gap should be heralded as heroes, not thrown to jail and tortured.
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By RONALYN V. OLEA
After three days, relatives and colleagues were finally able to visit the 43 arrested health workers through the intervention of Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima, who earlier denounced the military for refusing access to those detained.
MEDIA RELEASE February 8, 2010 As thousands of Filipino health professionals are driven away from the country because of lack of enough opportunities, the government terrorizes the very few who chose to stay and serve their fellow citizens, Council for Health and Development revealed in a press conference held in Quezon City. In a statement,…
A law passed last year to bring down the prices of drugs and medicines has not delivered on its promise, according to consumer and health advocates. It failed to break the stranglehold of huge transnational drug companies on the Philippine market. It also squandered an opportunity to develop the local pharmaceutical industry.