Support group Kapatid sought Friday, Feb. 26, the release of a pregnant detainee who was arrested in Sorsogon on Christmas Eve over multiple charges, including the violation of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Kapatid, a support group for families and friends of political prisoners, said 41-year-old Elizabeth Estilon was arrested on “trumped-up cases” of violation of the Anti-Terror Law, and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
“Elizabeth Estilon is about to give birth at the end of the month or the first week of March. We ask the government to give her immediate medical attention and free her from prison now,” said Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim in a statement.
“Seriously heed our call to avoid the incidents involving the deaths of the infants of political prisoners Reina Mae Nasino, Nona Espinosa and Andrea Rosal,” she added.
The group said Estilon was nabbed with 62-year-old Enriqueta Guelas in Barangay Lalod, Bulusan, Sorsogon on Dec. 24, 2020, and they were detained at the Sorsogon City District Jail.
“Allow Elizabeth Estilon to take care of her infant outside the confines of prison as the two should be kept together,” Lim said.
“We have repeatedly said that mothers need to breastfeed their infants as breastmilk provides unsurpassed natural immunity and nutrition containing protective antibodies much needed especially at this time of the pandemic,” she added.
The Kapatid official reiterated that it is cruel to separate a mother from her newborn child, urging the government to drop the charges lodged against Estilon and Guelas.
On Valentine’s Day, the barely month-old daughter of detained activist Nona Espinosa died of an infection in the lungs and blood after being hospitalized for a few days due to low hemoglobin count.
The group said Espinosa and her child were separated three days after birth via a cesarean section, and was then sent back to the Guihulngan City Police Station in Negros Oriental.
Just four months ago, the three-month old baby of activist Reina Mae Nasino also died. After giving birth to Baby River, Nasino was separated from her newborn daughter and returned back in jail.