Oppress the people, suppress the protests, arrest the dissidents—repeat. This has become the long-established tactic under the authoritarian playbook of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Under this strategy of quelling any opposition, over a thousand activists have been jailed, 82 of whom are women, including peasant organizer Amanda Echanis.

Ranmill, Amanda’s half-brother, laments at the persecution his sister and two-year old nephew are braving—a situation he is all too familiar with. “Kaya nga ako’y napapaiyak, ganito din ako noong bata ako. Nakikita ko nanay ko gano’n din na nasa kulungan,” he said. 

Amanda and Ranmill were barely a year old before being imprisoned on two separate occasions with their parents—Erlinda and Randall, who were members of peasant organizations Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Anakpawis. It was within the confines of concrete walls and iron bars that the two children learned how to walk, talk, and say their ABCs, said Ranmill.

Ranmill attributes much of his and his sister's militancy to their parents, particularly their father, and their drive for change to their experience of poverty while maturing. “Madaling maunawaan ang pangangailan ng pagkilos para sa pagbabago, lalo na't damang-dama mo yung kahirapan,” he shared. 

Randall’s role as peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines was as good as a signed death warrant. On August 2020, he was murdered inside his own home. Despite her father’s fate, Amanda fearlessly continued following his footsteps and shouldering his advocacies through her efforts as an organizer in Amihan, a group forwarding genuine agrarian reform and peasant women empowerment.

Much like her father, Amanda’s political work made her a prime target of the state. While conducting relief operations in Cagayan in December 2020, Amanda was arrested by the police who claimed she possessed firearms and explosives, the same non-bailable trumped-up charges used against countless peasant activists. 

Amihan National Chairperson Zenaida Soriano dismisses these cases as completely fabricated. The absurd narrative that a woman, having just given birth, had stashed weapons and explosives in her house to “defend herself” reflected the desperate measures the state is willing to carry out to silence its critics, she said. 

The government’s warped perception has worryingly reached the point where they deem a pregnant woman of poor origins a threat to their power, and so they stop at nothing to harass mothers and their children. Human rights activist Reina Mae Nasino, who was arrested with the same charges as Amanda, had her baby taken away after birth. Three months later in 2020, her child, Baby River, died after suffering from pneumonia. Nona Espinosa was also under similar circumstances—her infant passed away just three days after their separation.

The state has long promoted the practice of subjecting women activists to inhumane conditions that infringe on their liberty, motherhood, and due process of law. The non-bailable charges serve to detain them, the slow court hearings prolong their stay, and the lack of hygiene kits, as well as the absence of childcare facilities, ensure their needs are largely unmet. 

Amidst these intensified attacks, Amihan continues to campaign against human rights violations peasant women suffer. Besides providing financial and material aid to women political prisoners, they also call on the enforcement of the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, a policy requiring the state to recognize gender-sensitive needs by providing mother prisoners with adequate prenatal and postpartum care. But better yet, according to Soriano, women political prisoners should be released under non-custodial measures to properly tend to their innocent newborns. 

Amanda’s child, Baby Randy, celebrated his second birthday last October 25, but what should be a joyous occasion has been shadowed by two years of injustice built on fabrications and murder. The plight of the Echanis’ reflects one account out of many Duterte left in his wake, one among many that remain unanswered to this day. 

The government’s brutal tendency to imprison the poor rather than address their concerns has long victimized the people and should be put to an end, lest we see the next generation of activists jailed with their children and witness another newborn’s death in prison. •

To those who wish to support Amihan’s cause, send your donations to 09158505818 through GCash. You may also directly support the campaign to free Amanda and baby Randy by donating to +639952538221 either through Maya or GCash.