DOJ chief won’t let Morong 43 detainee separated from baby

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday ordered a government prosecutor to withdraw his opposition to a petition filed by a Morong 43 detainee who asked to be released so she could care for her newborn son.

“I have ordered the prosecutor (State Prosecutor Romeo Senson) to withdraw his opposition... Mother and child should not be separated,” De Lima told reporters prior to meeting with the lawyer and families of the Morong 43 detainees at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila.

Accused Judilyn Oliveros, a first-time mother, gave birth to a son last July 22 at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Both mother and child remain confined at the hospital.

A week after giving birth, Oliveros asked her lawyer to file a motion for release on recognizance for humanitarian reasons before the Morong Regional Trial Court Branch 78.

Her petition said she wanted to breastfeed her baby for at least six months which was the recommendation of her son's pediatrician. Oliveros asked the court to allow her to nurse and bond with her baby outside the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

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