asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of the Philippines asking when Rev. De La Torre will be released; as he had been detained for some time in a prison there and was released 18 months ago, but who was once again detained by police on 22 April 1982 and has not been released since.
Written Answers. - Priest's Detention in Philippines.
605.
I am most concerned at the news of the arrest last month in the Philippines of Fr. Ed. De La Torre, a priest of the Society of the Divine Word. I am aware that when he was detained on a previous occasion he was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
Ireland does not have diplomatic relations with the Philippines. For this reason we are not in a position to make direct representations to the Philippine authorities. However, I have instructed the Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York to raise as a matter of urgency the question of Fr. De La Torre's arrest with his Philippine counterpart so that the concern of the Irish Government may be communicated to the Philippine authorities.