The spouses and children of illegally detained foreigners at Bureau of Immigration Bicutan detention center have filed criminal complaint with the Commission on Human Rights for violating Republic Acts aimed at protecting the rights of women and their children.
The criminal charges are filed against Bureau of Immigration Commissioners OIC Siegfred Mison, assoc. comm. Abdullah Mangotara and OIC assoc. comm. Ronaldo Ledesma.
They are accused of violating Republic Act No. 9262. March 08, 2004
AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS,
Republic Act No. 7610. June 17, 1992
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR STRONGER DETERRENCE AND SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
The BI commissioners by its lack of proper due process and in most cases grave violations of due process have also been violating the subject Republic acts to protect women and children. Most of the foreign detainees have Filipina wives, spouses and children. By violating the foreign detainees rights of due process, they also endanger the Filipina wives and children.
Most cases in BI are administrative in nature and can be taken care of with payment of arrearages and fines but BI commissioners gravely abuse their power by disregarding due process, illegally detain and deny liberty and cause irrepairable damage to Filipina wives and children.
The family unit is broken up, the father ripped away from his family, the financial support is stopped because the father is unjustly detained and he is unable to work, financial resources are drained because of excessive lawyer fees and unneeded court filings, mental and emotional anguish to the women and children not knowing if the father will ever come home, psychological trauma of the women and children seeing the father locked up like a criminal for simple administrative violations, denial of seeing the father because of distance and financial resources not covering the expense of travel/board.
The BI commissioners are destroying the lives of hundreds of Filipina women and children, they are equalling the abuses of third world countries that have no governmental structure to protect the women and children. Is this how the Philippines should be viewed and compared to?
We are requesting that your honorable office investigate the merits of this complaint and file criminal charges against the BI commissioners, Siegfred Mison, Abdullah Mangotara and Ronaldo Ledesma.
