Kim Ujano, son of human rights defender Ma. Salome “Sally” Ujano, watched police officers in plain clothes arrested her mother on November 14, 2021. The arrest was based on a warrant issued 15 years ago, in 2006, in relation to her alleged involvement in the ambush of two military personnel in Quezon Province in 2005. Ujano's family said it cannot be true because she was already serving as executive director of Women’s Crisis Center at the time.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY BERNICE BELTRAN
Kim Ujano was photographed in their living room on October 22, 2022 while he was preparing to visit his mother at the Taguig City Jail Female Dormitory in the country capital.
Kim Ujano checked all the food that he and his siblings will bring to their mother.
Kim picked dresses that he would pack and take to Taguig City Jail.
Kim also packed his mom’s jewelry, medicine, and makeup. His mother asked him to bring her the jewelry when he visited her at the Taguig City Jail.
Kim shared a Facebook post that calls for the release of his mother. Kim’s family and supporters actively share images, videos, articles, and messages on a Facebook page they set up.
Kim holds a T-shirt with his mother’s image printed beside the text “Free Sally Ujano.”
Kim showed Sally Ujano’s drawing for her grandchild while she was detained in Taguig City Jail and a video of him and his mother singing together a few years before she was arrested.
Photographs of Sally Ujano and her husband during their wedding day.
A letter Sally Ujano wrote for her grandchildren while she was detained in Taguig City Jail.
This photo essay is part of PCIJ's series of reports on Philippine prisons. Check our microsite here.
PCIJ reports
IN CRAMPED PHILIPPINE PRISONS, AUTHORITIES GET CREATIVE TO EXPAND FACILITIES | READ.
WITH THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT, PDLS CAN OBTAIN COLLEGE DEGREES AND ASPIRE TO BECOME LAWYERS| READ
'SOME CHILDREN ARE STILL BEING PLACED IN DETENTION CENTERS AND JAILS | READ