Kids of 'political prisoners' ask Arroyo to free parents

MANILA, Philippines – Children of political prisoners on Monday marked Political Prisoners’ Day and called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to order the release of their parents in time for the Christmas holidays. Radio dzBB’s Mao dela Cruz reported that the families of political detainees asked the President to free their detained kin as in the case of Claudio Teehankee Jr. Teehankee, the son of the late former Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee Sr, was granted executive clemency by President Arroyo on September 28, on the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Parole, and was released on the night of October 2. Teehankee was convicted by the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) in 1992 for the killing of Maureen Hultman and Roland John Chapman and gravely wounding Jussi Olavi Leino in 1991. The Supreme Court upheld the Makati RTC’s decision in 1995. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV