On Ninoy’s death anniv KMU to Noynoy: Free Eastern Visayas pol detainee

On the 27th anniversary of the assassination of former political detainee and senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., Kilusang Mayo Uno called on President Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino III to free Vincent “Ka Bebot” Borja, the labor center’s leader for Eastern Visayas.

“As a son of a former political detainee, President Aquino should be more compassionate towards political detainees. He should see to it that they are immediately set free from being imprisoned unjustly,” said Lito Ustarez, KMU executive vice-chairperson. 

Borja, a National Council member of the KMU and Anakpawis Partylist’s coordinator for Eastern Visayas, was imprisoned in April 2007, shortly before the election day of that year. 

During a meeting with Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño in the said time, Borja was arrested by elements of the military who were carrying an arrest warrant with the name “Tata Borja” on it – a name which Borja never used. 

“There’s already a double whammy in Ka Bebot’s arrest. First, it is elements of the military who arrested him, not elements of the police. Second, he was served a fake warrant of arrest. These are reasons enough for him to be set free immediately. The only reason he was brought to prison was that the military men were carrying guns,” Ustarez said. 

Borja was forcibly arrested and then slapped with a murder case in which a co-accused died months before the alleged victim did. He was then demonized in the Eastern Visayas local mass media as a ranking member of the New People’s Army.

The so-called witness never appeared in court, causing the trial to drag on. Due to the prosecution’s persistence and the judge’s incompetence, Borja remains imprisoned, with even his petition for bail remaining unheard by the court. 

“Our comrade has suffered for so long over what is clearly a fabricated case. He remains a victim of the campaign of political harassment waged by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her military officials. Even before he took oath as president, we have been asking Pres. Noynoy to set Ka Bebot free. We seize this day as an opportunity to remind him,” Ustarez said. 

”We will not stop asking President Noynoy to act on Ka Bebot’s case because we know we are correct in pushing for our comrade’s freedom,” Ustarez added.