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MANILA - A lawyers' group said Monday it has asked the court to grant furlough to detained mother Reina Mae Nasino after her 3-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 (NUPL) asked a Manila court to allow her mother to see her child.

The group is studying its next legal move but will prioritize Nasino's request for furlough to visit the wake of her child, said NUPL-Metro Manila secretary general Kath Panguban.

• Detained mother's baby dies before given a chance to reunite

"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 2 hours, she added.

On Friday, October 9, her pediatrician gave the baby only a few hours to live, based on the court filing.

"Kinikilala naman ng batas, both international and local laws na dapat merong pagkilala sa karapatan ng isang buntis na inmate, 'yung karapatan niya na magpabreastfeed sa kaniyang anak at 'yung anak din niya ay may karapatan din sa kaniyang gatas bilang isang ina," she said.

(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.)

"Kinikilala 'yung pagpapanatili ng baby sa loob ng facility lalo na kung 'yung health ng bata requires na dapat magkasama sila nung kaniyang nanay to ensure na tuloy-tuloy ang supply ng breastmilk."

(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.)