Second Open Letter to Pope Francis I
Second Open Letter to Pope Francis I
from Philippine Political Prisoners
(17 December 2014)
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Your Holiness, Pope Francis,
Again, our warm embraces!
We send our joyous greets to you on your birthday, today!
We trust that you continue to be well, to have more birthdays to come, and to be able to strongly push your advocacies, including those that concern the freedom, rights and welfare of the mass of the people, especially the most deprived, hungry and oppressed — including those who have suffered and continue to suffer much from man-made as well as natural disasters.
We, political prisoners, continue to look forward to your visit to our country in mid-January next year.
We reiterate our hope that, aside from directly looking at the situation of the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda, sympathizing with them, giving inspiration to them and valuably boosting their spirits in surviving and rising above the mire, you would also be able to visit us or, at least, that your office would be able to look into our unjustly repressed situation as prisoners of conscience — as those who have been repressed behind iron bars and continue to be repressed in our advocacy and fight for people’s causes and for fundamental political and social changes in the interest of freedom, justice, human rights and the qualitative betterment in the lives and conditions of the deprived, impoverished and oppressed mass of the people.
We continue to hope that, even in your short visit to our country, you would also see what can, in utmost, be advocated and done to effectively help in qualitatively resolving our situation. Such includes pressing for the return of our lost freedom as political prisoners, and for the redress of the injustices and other violations of our political and human rights, that we, victims of continuing arbitrary and unjust political imprisonment, have long been made to suffer in our country — much like what you have also seen and were pained about in your home country, Argentina.
We also hope a lot that in looking at the very reason why we were placed and continue to be confined behind iron bars, you will also be able to learn more deeply the dire situation of the deprived, impoverished and oppressed mass of the people — not only in the areas devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda, but throughout the country — in whose interest we have been struggling for and continue to be devoted to for the attainment of fundamental political and social changes for the betterment of their lives and of the whole of our society.
We continue to fervently hope for your valued support and for, indeed, the great help of your intercession in our situation and in that of the suffering mass of our people.
Political Prisoners (in Metro Manila jails)
in Camp Crame
Benito Tiamson
Wilma Austria-Tiamson
Dionisio Almonte
Renante Gamara
Eduardo Serrano
Gloria Pitargue-Almonte
Ramon Argente
Joel E. Enano
Arlene Panea
Rex G. Villaflor
in Camp Bagong Diwa
Tirso Alcantara
Emeterio Antalan
Leopoldo Caloza
Alan Jazmines
Loida Magpatoc
Jesus Abetria Jr.
Modesto Araza
Alex Arias
Cesar Balmaceda
Gemma Carag
Eddie Cruz
Philip Enteria
Marissa Espedido
Voltaire Guray
Fidel Holanda
Edward Lanzanas
Pastora Latagan
Rolando Laylo
Evelyn Legaspi
Eliseo Lopez
Alberto Macasinag
Jared Morales
Denis Ortiz
Rhea Pareja
Miguela Piñero
Hermogenes Reyes Jr.
Andrea Rosal
Felicardo Salamat
Aristides Sarmiento
Antonio Satumba
Elmer Torres
Ma. Miradel Torres
Cirilo Verdan
in New Bilibid Prison
Eduardo Sarmiento
Alberto Acerben
Jesus Alegre
Rodel Caballero
Marcial Dosmanos
Sandino Esguerra
Arnilo Gaviola
Generoso Granado
Romeo Lareno
Sony Marbella
Alfredo Montajes
Arturo Pangilinan
Rolando Pañamogan
Gerardo dela Peña
Joel Ramada
Lamberto Santiago
Victor Segura
Ricardo Solangon
Danilo Soniscio
Francis Versora
Calixto Vistal
cf: Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines
Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform
Office of the President of the Philippines