Last February 13 in
San Jorge, Samar, members of the AFP’s 34th IB arrested cultural
worker Ericson Acosta on mere suspicion that he is a member of the New
People’s Army (NPA).
He was unarmed and was
in the company of a local barangay official when he was arrested
without warrant. He was held for three days without charges and was
subjected to continuous tactical interrogation by the military. He has
been charged with illegal possession of explosives and is detained at
the Calbayog sub-provincial jail. Handling his defense is a legal team
from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), led by Atty. Jun
Oliva and Atty. Rey Cortez.
Acosta is a former UP
activist. During the ‘90s, he served as editor of the Philippine
Collegian, UP’s official student publication. He was former
chairperson of the student cultural group Alay Sining, former chair of
the campus alliance STAND-UP and member of the UP Amnesty
International.
Acosta edited the
Philippine Collegian’s groundbreaking F1 Literary Folio, where his
poem “And So Your Poetry Must” first appeared. He acted in several
theater productions in UP, including the UP Repertory Company’s “Sa
Sariling Bayan” directed by Soxy Topacio; Dulaang UP’s “Green Bird,”
directed by the late Ogie Juliano; and “Monumento,” which he wrote and
directed. He also played the lead role of Andres Bonifacio in this
multi-media production by the UP Alay Sining. Acosta also wrote
several patriotic songs for the activist cultural group.
He has worked in the
media as segment writer for ABS-CBN’s Wanted TV Patrol and assistant
entertainment section editor of the Manila Times. His works as a poet
and songwriter have remained relevant especially to the succeeding
generations of activists in and out of the university. He helped in
the reestablishment of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP)
during EDSA II, and has worked closely with the peasant sector. His
bias for the poor and oppressed dates back to his campus days.
Lumbera, who is
currently in Baguio for the 50th UP National Writers’ Workshop (UPNWW),
was with the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign launch in spirit, and
delivered his message via SMS: “He deserves to be released for his
continuing incarceration is a grievous loss to the growth of a truly
democratic art and culture of the Filipino people." Lumbera has known
Acosta since his activist days in the university and has published
favorable reviews for “Monumento.”
Panelists and fellows
of the 50th UPNWW, in an official statement, also expressed support
for Acosta’s immediate release: “As writers and artists some of us
have worked directly and in collaboration with Ericson Acosta who is
also a writer, poet, thespian, singer and songwriter.”
Acosta's plight is no
different from artists like Lumbera, Bonifacio Ilagan, Jun Cruz Reyes
and Axel Pinpin who were also incarcerated, persecuted and harassed
for their political beliefs.
The Free Ericson
Acosta Campaign is spearheaded by Acosta’s former colleagues from the
UP Philippine Collegian, UP Alay Sining and UP Amnesty International,
as well as his former schoolmates from St. Mary’s College, UST High
School, his family and friends.
The campaign started
when friends started posting personal testimonies about Acosta in
their blogs and Facebook accounts, immediately after they became aware
of his illegal arrest and detention in February. The campaign now
maintains the Facebook page “Free Ericson Acosta,” and a campaign blog
(www.freeacosta.blogspot.com).
Supporters of the Free
Ericson Acosta Campaign also include veteran actors Fernando “Nanding”
Josef, Rody Vera, Pen Medina, and Bonifacio Ilagan; Dean Roland
Tolentino of the UP College of Mass Communications; Dr. Alice
Guillermo of the UP College of Arts and Letters; former Dean of the UP
College of Fine Arts Neil Doloricon, poets and literary critics Dr.
Gemino Abad, Gelacio Guillermo, Prof. J. Neil Garcia, Jun Cruz Reyes;
poet Richard Gappi of the Neo-Angono Artists’ Collective and former
political detainee Axel Pinpin of the Tagaytay 5; visual artists Egai
Talusan Fernandez, Boy Dominguez, Mideo Cruz, and Julie Lluch;
filmmakers Sigfried Barros Sanchez, Kiri Dalena, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna
and Bibeth Orteza; poet and musician Jess Santiago, rock musicians
Chickoy Pura of The Jerks and Eric Cabrera of Datu’s Tribe, and
journalists Elizabeth Lolarga, Kenneth Guda, Norman Bordadora, K Alave
and Iris Pagsanjan.
Former Cultural Center
of the Philippines (CCP) Vice President and Artistic Director Nanding
Josef said: “This new administration is challenged to be different
from its predecessors. Free those whose only ‘crime’ is genuinely
serving the least served, and jail without delay those who have
greedily taken away ‘food on the table of the poor.’ Free Ericson
Acosta!”
“I know him (Ericson
Acosta) personally as a cultural worker. I am humbled by his
sacrifices and his commitment to the poor. My accomplishments as an
artist and cultural worker are nothing compared to his," Josef added.
Even in detention,
Acosta struggles to make his voice heard. A raw recording dubbed
“Prison Sessions” uploaded by BAYAN Secretary General Renato Reyes,
Jr. – who on his April 6 visit to the Calbayog jail played acoustic
guitar while Acosta sang some of his original compositions for Alay
Sining – instantly generated thousands of hits on its first few days
on the web.
In a highly emotional
statement, Acosta expressed his willingness to become the campaign’s
“principal mass leader and propagandist.”
“My active engagement
through my writings naturally serves to effectively amplify the
campaign, as well as the general call to free all political
prisoners,” he said, despite having writing difficulties given
dreadful conditions in prison.
The Free Ericson
Acosta Campaign called on all concerned artists, freedom-fighters and
human rights advocates to unite against political repression and
attacks on human rights and civil liberties. Their rallying cry: “Free
the Artist! Free Ericson Acosta!”
