A political prisoners support group Kapatid has appealed to the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) to lower the amount of bail set for detained Reina Mae Nasino and two other prisoners.
In a statement, Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said the amount is “excessive” for the three political prisoners.
“On behalf of the families of Reina Mae Nasino, Alma Moran, and Ram Carlo Bautista, we appeal to the court to immediately reduce the gargantuan amount it imposed that is far beyond their capacity to pay and impairs the justness of its decision,” she said.
The Manila RTC Branch 47 on Tuesday released an order granting the joint petition for bail filed by the three accused due to the failure of the prosecution to prove evidence of guilt was strong.
It said that the prosecutor's witnesses, namely Barangay Chairman Jocelyn Corpuz and Police Corporal Christopher Jacinto, failed to identify which firearms were recovered from each of them.
The court has set Php 420,000 each for Nasino and Moran while Bautista will post bail of Php 570,000.
Lim said the amount set for three activists is higher as compared to the bail bond of Php 150,000 posted by former first lady Imelda Marcos after she was found guilty of graft and corruption.
She noted that the activists suffered for three years in jail while the former first lady did not.
“These three activists come from poor families and we, the organizations that support them, are as hard up and rely solely on donations to help political prisoners. It is very hard for all of us to immediately come up with a total of 1.410 million to secure their release. So we pray that Judge Paulino Gallegos will find it in his heart to reduce their bail to a reasonable and fair amount especially considering that their case is baseless and awaiting final dismissal. Bring them home before Christmas,“ she stressed.
Meanwhile, Nasino’s lawyer also aired the same appeal.
In an exclusive interview with Inquirer, lawyer Kathy Panguban said they will file a motion seeking to reduce the amount of bail.
“We will try to move for [bail] reduction, considering their [economic situation], plus the cases filed against them are fake,” she said.
