Government employee leader and unionist Antonieta Setias-Dizon was released from prison in Butuan City on July 2 after almost six years of imprisonment. She was temporarily released after posting bail for four of the remaining cases state forces filed against her. More than 17 cases were filed against her in total, and 13 of these have already been dismissed.
Police arrested Setias-Dizon on September 18, 2019 at her home in San Pedro, Laguna, based on the alleged firearms, explosives, and subversive documents confiscated from her house. Authorities accused her of involvement in a murder case in Bayugan, Agusan del Sur. After her cases in Laguna, authorities transferred her detention to Agusan del Norte.
Setias-Dizon previously served as an official of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and was one of the longest-serving organizers of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage). After retiring from OWWA, she continued organizing among government employees in various agencies.
Past regimes targeted her for harassment because of this. In 2015, she first experienced surveillance and harassment, forcing her to seek sanctuary at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines office and to file a petition for a writ of amparo and habeas data at the Supreme Court. Despite these legal remedies, she became a target for arrest in 2019.
Upon her release from prison, Courage former chairperson and former Bayan Muna Congress representative Ferdinand Gaite, and those who processed her documents, fetched Setias-Dizon. They expressed gratitude to the lawyers, Setias-Dizon’s former colleagues from OWWA, members of Courage and other unions, especially to the victim’s family for their support and commitment over the past six years.
“But the struggle does not end here. There are still many cases to be heard,” Gaite said. He stated that their support for Setias-Dizon will continue until all the cases she faces are dismissed.
Meanwhile, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) also expressed support for Setias-Dizon’s temporary freedom. The group said that Setias-Dizon’s release further expose the modus operandi of the military and government of fabricating charges and planting evidence against activists to jail them and suppress their activism.
Currently, there are 22 political prisoners from the labor movement who have been detained for several years. CTHUR condemned the Marcos regime and called for addressing the situation of political prisoners. “The injustice that they suffer from should be ended with their freedom and the junking of the fabricated charges filed against them,” CTUHR said.
