A lawyers’ group has asked a court to grant furlough to detained mother Reina Mae Nasino after her three-month-old child River died following their separation.
The baby died before 9 p.m. Friday night, hours after the National Union of Peoples Lawyers asked a Manila Regional Trial Court to allow the mother to see her child.
NUPL-Metro Manila secretary general Kath Panguban says they are studying their next legal move but will prioritize Nasino’s request for furlough to visit the wake of her child.
“Sa ngayon inuuna po namin na mapayagan si Ina makadalaw, masilip man lang niya for the last time para makapagpaaalam siya nang maayos sa kaniyang baby,” she told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
The NUPL was supposed to file a petition before the Court of Appeals Monday questioning the local court’s denial to allow the mother and child to be together as jail facilities must provide lactation areas under the law, Panguban said.
River was born with a low birthweight at 5.5 pounds, requiring her to be breastfed every two hours, she added.
On Oct. 9, her pediatrician gave the baby only a few hours to live based on the court filing.
“The laws, both international and local, recognize the right of an inmate to breastfeed her child and her child also has a right to her breastmilk,” Kath said.
“It recognizes the need for a baby to stay inside a facility especially when her health requires her to stay with her mother to ensure a steady supply of breastmilk.”
