BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – The government has been urged to assess the condition of women detention facilities following the death of a political prisoner’s newborn baby.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on women, family relations and gender equality, said these centers should be equipped to handle maternal needs.
“If a woman seven months pregnant is locked up in a prison cell that is merely five meters by 10 meters small, cramped with 31 other inmates, then we are endangering the health and life of both the mother and baby,” she said.
The lady solon was referring to Andrea Rosal, daughter of the late New People’s Army spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal.
Andrea was seven months pregnant when she was arrested for kidnapping and attempted homicide.
She was denied access to the necessary pre-natal check-ups and tests during her detention, according to Cayetano.
The senator also wants to know whether the detainee was provided with “sufficient” medical needs in prison, and why there was a delay in her transfer to the Philippine General Hospital.
“The right of a mother to reproductive health is universal and must be observed at all times regardless of the detainee’s political belief,” she stressed.
Cayetano also said the court should allow Rosal to attend her baby’s funeral.
“She should be allowed to grieve for her baby and given enough time to fully recover physically and psychologically,” she said./PN
