Zero conviction

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Desk Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

An Amnesty International report titled “Above the Law: Police Torture in the Philippines” has found that police have tortured hundreds of detainees with total impunity although  torture had been made a “specific crime” five years ago.

AI has observed a steady increase of cases from 54 in 2010, 60 in 2011 and 75 in 2013. It has also noted 28 cases have already been reported for the first half of this year. In the report, the rights organization studied 55 cases of torture and interviewed victims, officials of the Commission on Human Rights and Philippine National Police, rights experts and lawyers and concluded that police torture is still rampant in the country.

The PNP response to the report has, so far,  been disappointing, focusing on downplaying its failures by citing an incorrect figure to understate the number of torture complaints made to the CHR in 2013. According to AI, a PNP press release said the Commission received only 6 complaints in 2013 when the correct figure should be 75.

Amnesty International Secretary General,  Salil Shetty,  says the figure the police want to use when it comes to the torture is just the tip of the iceberg. Everything they have seen suggests the real figure is much higher as most victims are too frightened to report torture for fear of reprisals. He adds: “The real figure to focus on is zero – in the 5 years since the Anti-Torture Act, there have been zero convictions for torture. The government needs to move from zero convictions to zero tolerance.”

Aside from the swift response to the report from the PNP, the Philippine Senate has also moved quickly and has decided to open an inquiry into findings of the AI report. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., chair of the committee on justice and human rights will look into the issue of police torture by mid-January and the hearing will try to bring out allegations, confirm, think of why it is happening, look at loopholes and see how the situation can be improved.

Considering the seriousness of the findings of the AI report and skewed priorities of the PNP brass when it comes to facing an issue as serious as police torture, this is one Senate hearing that could actually make a difference. Something must be terribly wrong somewhere if police torture is common knowledge, yet no one has been convicted under the Anti-Torture Act.

If the Senate has recognized the need to look into the nagging problem of police torture, when will the other government agencies and leaders concerned admit that we have a problem and act decisively to solve it?*