Today marks the 70th birthday of long-time activist Myrna Cruz-Abraham.
Myrna usually commemorates her birthday simply, surrounded by the company of her loved ones or with the masses. Now, she is spending it behind bars, just three days after her arrest.
On January 27, Myrna was accosted and arrested by eight plainclothes police personnel due to a rehashed frustrated murder allegation in San Rafael, Bulacan. She was then transferred to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Quezon City on the same day of her arrest.
Myrna, fondly known as Ate Micah by her fellow peers in Sandiwa, a network of advocates for national minority rights, is a known staunch advocate for the indigenous peoples and national minorities in their struggle for the right to self-determination. Since 1982, Myrna has been an activist and organizer for various sectors in Metro Manila and Cagayan Valley.
Myrna’s family, supporters, and fellow advocates’ birthday wish for her is for her freedom, no less.
Her family reminisced about how Myrna had opened their eyes ever since they were young, especially about societal injustices.
This wisdom, they believe, was likely shaped by the harsh realities that Myrna endured growing up in Pasig City.
They added that in her early experiences during the 1970s, she became involved in the Kabataang Makabayan (KM), a progressive youth organization in the Philippines that advocates for social justice, national democracy, and the rights of marginalized sectors. After the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, the youth organization was forced to go underground due to the repressive actions under the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.
Myrna’s family remember how she took them to participate in workers’ strikes, marched in mobilization protests, and even joined solidarity camps along with the Lumad people of Mindanao.
“There were times when she brought us along to workshops and training sessions where she was invited as a teacher. We saw how much joy her work brought her,” it said in the family’s statement
Since 2017, Myrna has played a key role during the Lakbayan campaign of the Lumad, where she supported the Lumad Bakwit School in Manila.
“She is known to us, and members and leaders of tribal communities, here and abroad, as an active participant in the struggle for self-determination and to uplift the suffering of the majority of citizens in our country,” said Sandiwa in a statement.
Despite her frail stature and timid demeanor, Myrna is recognized as a staunch organizer who has been solely devoted to protecting human rights and respect for fellow men and the environment.
Myrna is a doting mother and a supportive figure in the family. Her loved ones recalled how she would comfort them upon cooking delicious dishes, always make time for her grandchildren, and guide them through the challenges in life.
“Despite her active involvement in fighting alongside the masses, she never neglected raising us. There is nothing like having a forward-thinking, fearless, and patriotic mother,” the family statement read.
“For the second time, the state has failed us. The very institution that promised to serve the people is now oppressing them,” they added.
Fifteen years ago, in 2010, Myrna was slapped with charges of murder and violations of the election-related gun ban charges. Rights groups reported that she was forcibly grabbed and thrown into a van, almost treated like a pig, as she got off the bus she was riding. These charges were eventually dismissed in December 2010 for lack of evidence.
Rehashed arrest order
After being accosted, Myrna and her daughter were forcibly taken into an unmarked vehicle and brought to the San Rafael Municipal Station. This was only the time she was informed about another arrest warrant stemming from frustrated murder allegations issued at the Cagayan Regional Trial Court in December 2011.
Such warrant noted Myrna and 16 other individuals were implicated in the alleged crime, which rights groups said was trumped-up.
IP rights group Sandiwa, however, pointed out that the arrest of Myrna was based on a rehashed case that was already dismissed way back in 2013.
“We call upon the Marcos Jr. administration, the judicial and executive branches of government, the uniformed and civil authorities to free Myrna Cruz-Abraham! Stop weaponizing the legal process! Uphold the universal human rights of every citizen! Stop red-tagging!” Sandiwa demanded in a statement.
“Our family firmly asserts that our mother is innocent of the accusations against her. What they have done is a cowardly act to further oppress those who bravely stand for human rights,” Myrna’s family added.