Philippines seeks release of Filipino labor leader held in Malaysia

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur have taken up the cudgels for a Filipino labor leader being held by police in Malaysia for supposedly joining a June 25 prodemocracy rally in that country.

CHR Chair Loretta Ann Rosales asked the Malaysian government to allow Romy Castillo, chair of the militant Partido ng Lakas ng Masa (PLM), to “return to the Philippines in the earliest possible flight so he can be reunited with his family.”

In a letter to Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Ibrahim Saad, Rosales noted that helping Castillo was “part of the mandate of the CHR under the Philippine Constitution to provide protection for the human rights of all Filipinos, including those abroad.”

Rosales said Castillo was “booked for deportation from Kuala Lumpur via Malaysian Airlines Flight No. 840 (on June 30).”

“But instead of being allowed to board his plane (at Kuala Lumpur International Airport), he was handcuffed and forcibly brought by Malaysian authorities to the Balai Sepang police,” the CHR head told the envoy.

The CHR furnished Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario a copy of Rosales’ letter. The Malaysian embassy has yet to reply to the letter.

In a statement furnished the Inquirer, PLM chair Sonny Melencio said Castillo “has been in Malaysia since the first week of June.”

In Kuala Lumpur, Castillo attended the congress of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). He also assisted in organizing overseas Filipino workers there.

According to Melencio, the June 25 rally, organized by PSM to call for free elections and a revamp of Malaysia’s repressive laws, “actually did not push through.”

Castillo, he said, was “arrested by the Malaysian police while on his way to that rally.”

On Tuesday, PLM members and supporters—along with Castillo’s wife Tess—picketed the Malaysian Embassy in Makati City.