Justice for Baby River! Free Reina Mae Nasino! Free All Political Prisoners!

Anakbayan-USA vehemently condemns the fascist US-Duterte regime for its treatment of Reina Mae Nasino, and holds it responsible for the tragic death of her child, Baby River Nasino. 

Reina Mae Nasino, 23, was illegally detained on trumped up charges by the Duterte regime for her work as an urban poor organizer with KADAMAY. She was jailed while pregnant and gave birth to Baby River Nasino while in prison. They were then forcibly separated, and the inaction of the state at every turn, up until Baby River’s tragic death, shows us that blame can only be placed on the fascist Duterte government. 

It was only at Baby River’s wake that Reina Mae was reunited with her child, where she was granted a mere three hours of “furlough" to mourn Baby River, under the pretext of “lack of personnel.” However, in those three hours, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and Manila Police stationed more than 40 guards to hover over the grieving mother. They even attempted to forcibly cut short Reina Mae’s time with her child when she and her family were being interviewed by the media. This heartless act only proves that the Duterte regime is afraid of the truths Reina Mae would expose of the state’s cruelty and the ire it would inspire from the people.

The tragedy of Baby River and Reina Mae Nasino reminds us of the sobering reality that under this rotten system, as represented by the Duterte regime, there is only freedom for murderers and thieves of the people, while those who serve the people are criminalized, attacked, and stripped of their humanity. We bitterly recall how just one month ago, Duterte freed and pardoned US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, who murdered Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, six years ago on Philippine soil. We bitterly recall the times justice was afforded to bureaucrat capitalists whose actions have caused genuine harm and suffering to the Filipino people: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was detained for plunder and yet was able to spend Christmas at home in 2015, or Senator Bong Revilla who got to visit his sick father multiple times throughout his sentence for plunder over the 2014 pork barrel scam. We bitterly recall how First Lady Imelda Marcos—hands bloodied with all those suffered, killed, and disappeared during her husband Ferdinand Marcos’ fascist dictatorship—continues to freely roam the halls of the House of Representatives while on bail, despite her graft conviction. 

The justice our people deserve is the kind that fearless fighters such as Reina Mae have committed their lives to. The Duterte regime thought that taking everything from Reina Mae would break her spirit. But even at Baby River’s wake, she stood strong, showing us that she now has every reason to continue fighting. These fascist tactics are meant to scare, threaten, and break activists, but we know the Duterte government is foolish to think that such brutality will stop us. Rather, it has only further concretized our resolve to the central task at hand, which is to oust Duterte from power once and for all.

May we be inspired by Reina Mae’s fighting spirit to struggle alongside her. Let us direct our rage and grief in fighting against the brutal tyranny of the Duterte regime and in building the future that children like Baby River deserve. We must build the movement to oust the Duterte government once and for all as one step in building the national democratic alternative that will give the Filipino people the justice they have long fought for and deserve.

JUSTICE FOR BABY RIVER!

FREE REINA MAE NASINO NOW!

FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

OUST DUTERTE NOW!