Jailed activist Reina Mae Nasino’s three-month-old daughter River died of pneumonia in October 2020 and not because of her negligence arising from her alleged membership with Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) as a Facebook post claims.
The anticommunist Facebook page Idol ku ‘to on Dec. 15 posted a photo of Nasino and River with the screenshot of a news account of the court granting her petition for bail overlaid with the following text:
ANG PABAYANG INA, MAKAKALAYA NA? Matatandaan na dahil sa kapabayaan at pagiging ‘miyembro’ ng CPP-NPA-NDF ay namatay ang kaniyang sanggol. Never again. Never forget (The neglectful mother will be released? Remember that it is due to her neglect and being ‘member’ of the CPP-NPA-NDF that her infant child died).
Nasino, who worked for the urban poverty group Kadamay, and two other activists were arrested in November 2019 in a police raid and charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, a nonbailable offense. All three have denied the charges, saying the weapons were planted by authorities.
Authorities also alleged that Nasino and her companions were members of the CPP’s “legal fronts.”
Nasino, then 23, found out she was pregnant only after her arrest when she underwent a medical examination in prison. She gave birth to River on July 1, 2021, but they were separated on Aug. 13.
River, who was cared for by her grandmother during the pandemic, died of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by pneumonia on Oct. 9, 2020 after spending two weeks at a special care unit of a Manila hospital.
The case further stirred controversy when a Manila court, upon the petition of the Manila City Jail where Nasino was detained, shortened the detained activist’s furlough to attend her daughter’s wake and burial from three days to six hours. She was handcuffed during her visit.
Last Dec. 12, a Manila court allowed Nasino and her two co-accused to post a P420,000 bail.
Idol ku ‘to was created on Nov. 19, 2015 and has 55,000 likes and 75,000 followers. (ML)