Ched Rick Gatchalian

Human rights groups gathered in Quezon City to call for Nanay Sally Ujano's release on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Handout

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Sectoral groups convene in QC to call for rights defender Sally Ujano's release

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1752147463214Image (3).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Human rights groups gathered in Quezon City to call for Nanay Sally Ujano&#x27;s release on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Handout </div>MANILA — Progressive groups called Thursday for the release of women and children&#x27;s rights activist Salome &quot;Nanay Sally&quot; Ujano, calling the senior citizen&#x27;s conviction for rebellion outrageous and unjust.Ujano, a child rights advocate, was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/11/15/21/child-rights-activist-sally-crisostomo-arrested">arrested in November 2021</a> for her alleged involevement in an ambush on two military personnel in Quezon province in 2005 and for a rebellion charge filed in 2006.Rights groups criticized Ujano&#x27;s arrest and the Commission on Human Rights emphasized the legitimacy of her advocacy work.<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/16/human-rights-activist-hinatulan-ng-guilty-sa-kasong-rebellion-1813">She was convicted in 2024 </a>and sentenced to from 10 years to 17 years and 4 months in prison.The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), World March of Women (WMW), Philippines Against Child Trafficking (PACT), Medical Action Group (MAG), women&#x27;s rights organizations, legal support groups, and family and friends of Ujano organized a solidarity event on Thursday to call for her release.“We were facilitating a survivors&#x27; group healing session together on the very days she was accused of committing rebellion,&quot;  said Jean Enriquez, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) and national coordinator of the World March of Women. &quot;The accusations against Nanay Sally are outrageous. She has spent almost three decades directly attending to cases of violence against women and children.&quot;PAHRA secretary general Egay Cabalitan called Ujano&#x27;s continued imprisonment “a clear injustice rooted in red-tagging used to silence human rights advocates.&quot;Cabalitan said Ujano&#x27;s release would reaffirm the Philippines&#x27; commitment to human rights and to democratic principles.According to Human Rights Violations Victims&#x27; Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), Ujano was first imprisoned from 1983 to 1985.She was interrogated on her alleged links to the Communist Party of the Philippines, but authorities supposedly &quot;never presented any valid warrant of arrest even after her release.&quot;<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/03/25/23/un-expert-urges-law-protecting-human-rights-advocates">UN expert urges passage of law protecting human rights advocates</a></div><div>&#x27;A WOMAN OF DEEP COMPASSION&#x27;</div>Over the past decades, Ujano represented women and children&#x27;s welfare in various programs including the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking.She also worked with the Philippine Commission on Women and even with the Philippine National Police since 2004 when she was with the Women’s Crisis Center. Ujano also participated in the joint program of Philippines Against Child Trafficking and the Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) in implementing the Safe Spaces Act (Republic Act No. 11313) in select educational institutions and local government units.“We, the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP), stand in firm and prophetic solidarity with Maria Salome ‘Sally’ Ujano, a woman of deep compassion and unshakable commitment to justice,” said Fr. Angel Cortez, OFM, co-executive secretary of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) during the event.“Her unjust conviction is not just a personal tragedy—it is a mirror held up to the soul of a nation wounded by repression, impunity, and the betrayal of its poorest citizens,&quot; he added.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/09/14/22/ph-rights-victims-still-face-challenges-seeking-justice-un-report">PH rights victims still face challenges seeking justice, UN report shows</a></div>Ujano&#x27;s son Klaro directly appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for her mother&#x27;s release, saying his mother was &quot;one of the many victims of [then President Rodrigo] Duterte’s red-tagging.&quot;He added, &quot;Emotionally, the arrest and relentless red-tagging have left us shaken. We&#x27;ve experienced deep fear—sometimes even hopelessness—about the current state of our justice system.&quot; The groups also reiterated their call to the government to pass the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill, emphasizing that &quot;human rights work is essential to building a just and humane society.&quot;

Progressive groups called Thursday for the release of women and children's rights activist Salome "Nanay Sally" Ujano, calling the senior citizen's conviction for rebellion outrageous and unjust.

Progressive groups called Thursday for the release of women and children's rights activist Salome "Nanay Sally" Ujano, calling the senior citizen's conviction for rebellion outrageous and unjust.

Rights groups call for release of child rights advocate Sally Ujano

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Rights groups call for release of child rights advocate Sally Ujano

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 10, 2025 08:44 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 10, 2025 09:03 PM PHT

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