“I cannot but be distressed by the continuing prejudice of our
justice system against my son and other political prisoners like him.”
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — The family of political detainee artist Ericson Acosta has
issued a new appeal to human rights advocates and Acosta’s friends and
supporters, this time regarding the detainee’s health problems.
Acosta’s father, Isaias, said his son is in immediate need of medical
attention because of a worsening kidney problem. Isaias, 79, said
Ericson, who has been detained for over a year since February 2011 in
Calbayog, Samar on false charges, is suffering from painful kidney
stones. He and his wife Liwayway, 80, are not in the peak of health
either and have their own share of health issues.
“We are both physically suffering due to our respective conditions
but nothing compares to the torment of knowing that our son continues to
be unjustly imprisoned,” he said.
Isais said that in his last visit to Acosta, his son said he had been
feeling persistent pain in his abdomen and lower back. The pain,
Acosta said, intensifies whenever he urinates. Now he has also noticed
spots of blood in his urine.
“My cousin, Ericson’s uncle, displayed similar symptoms before he
succumbed to prostate cancer. Ericson rarely complains when he is sick.
Even when he was arrested last year, his first words to me were, ‘Daddy
don’t worry about me. He always tells his mother not to fuss over him.
That’s how Ericson is. He suffers in silence. Once when he was still in
grade school, he waited until a stomachache had become too unbearable
before he finally told us to take him to the hospital. It turned out he
immediately needed to undergo an appendectomy. The doctor said we got
there in the nick of time,” Isaias said.
According to the detainee’s father, Acosta’s last check-up two years
ago revealed a renal function abnormality and a possible prostate
affliction.
“So as soon as we received word that he was in pain, we arranged for a
visit and asked our lawyers to immediately file a motion before the
court seeking urgent medical attention for my son. We had to skip the
visit because of my condition. But after we filed the motion, we were
told that the judge in charge of his case had just retired. How long
would it take until a new judge is installed? It is as if our
frustration with the slow resolution of Ericson’s case is not enough. We
are once again left bereft of immediate legal options,” he said.....
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Source: Bulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/03/father-of-political-detainee-ericson-acosta-appeals-for-sons-health-freedom/