Manila has had on-off talks since 1986 to end an insurgency that began in the late 1960s and has killed 40,000 people, scaring off potential investors in resource-rich rural communities across the poor Southeast Asian state.
The two sides had agreed to resume talks early next year, but the rebels insisted on a previous demand to free political prisoners, including the health workers who were arrested in February on suspicion they were communist guerrillas.
Aquino said at an international human rights day ceremony in the presidential palace that the health workers were denied due process, questioning the legality of their arrest.
“As a government that was committed to the rule of law and the right of man, this cannot stand,” Aquino told a crowd of diplomats, civil society members and army and police generals.
“Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Justice to withdraw the information filed before the court.”
“We recognize (the suspects’) right of due process was denied them. As a government that is committed to the rule of law and the rights of man, this cannot stand,” Aquino said.
Aquino’s order to free the detainees was a reversal of his earlier position not to interfere in the judicial process, allowing the court to decide on the fate of the 43 doctors, nurses and paramedics who had been arrested.
“I don’t see any problem for the two sides to return to the negotiating table, but ending the problem could remain elusive,” said Earl Parreno, trustee of the Manila-based Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the president changed his mind after he was convinced an injustice was committed to the health workers, adding Aquino believed the release could fast-track the resumption of peace talks with the rebels.
Maoist rebels abandoned the talks in February after the arrest of the health workers, but said they were willing to talk to the new government. Aquino took office in June.
Prior to his order on Friday, Aquino and his legal team held talks with security officials who previously insisted the health workers were part of the military arm of the communist party. De Lima said she does not expect any opposition from the officials.
Rights advocates, left-wing lawmakers and lawyers of health workers applauded Aquino’s decision, saying it was a major victory for human rights and could pave way for the release of more than 700 other political prisoners in the country.
The military and police had insisted that the 43 suspects, arrested in the town of Morong in February allegedly in possession of firearms and explosives, were rebels undergoing a training session.
However the detainees, who became popularly known as the “Morong 43,” insisted they were just health workers undergoing medical training.
Aquino said suspicions that they were communist rebels were “valid concerns,” but their legal rights were denied during their arrest and detention.
Aquino said the 43 were being released in line with his government’s commitment to human rights, emphasizing the group had been arrested when his predecessor, Gloria Arroyo, was still in power.
“For the first time in decades, we have a government that is serious about human rights. The culture of silence, injustice and impunity that once reigned, is now a thing of the past,” he said.
Aquino assumed the presidency in June after winning national elections by a landslide. He has repeatedly accused Arroyo of corruption and many other forms of misrule.
Following Aquino’s announcement, national police spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz defended the handling of the case.
“We submitted our investigation reports, we attached all the statements, our evidences, we did our homework,” Cruz said.
Justice Secretary Lilia de Lima said her office would file the motions for the dropping of charges on Monday and the 43 would hopefully be released before Christmas.
