This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 20, June 26-July 2, 2005
Torture is (still) alive and well in the
Philippines Even
as the Asian Human Rights Commission condemned in a statement the continued use
of torture on prisoners in the Philippines, a suspected guerrilla leader in
Bicol was reported to have been tortured by his military captors.
BY BULATLAT Forty-five year old New
People’s Army (NPA) leader Elmer Osila reportedly uses the names Ka Israel, Ka
Rolly and Ka Ador and heads the NPA Guerrilla Front Committee 79 operating the
Bicol region. At 3 p.m. of June 19, soldiers arrested him at a checkpoint in the
boundary of Camalig and Guinobatan towns in Albay province, about 530 kms south
of Manila. Osila has four outstanding
warrants of arrest for murder and kidnapping charges in Sorsogon, another
province in the region. A former rebel positively identified him at the
checkpoint and Osila did not resist arrest. Members of the Army’s 901st
Brigade under the 9th Infantry Division took custody of the prisoner.
He was taken to the 65th Infantry Battalion headquarters in Barangay Tula-Tula,
Ligao City. Later, he was turned over
to the Philippine National Police provincial command. But while he was under
military custody, Osila said he was subjected to various forms of physical
torture. He also said he was arrested on June 18, not June 19 as claimed by the
military. Confirmed Investigators of the
Commission on Human Rights – Bicol confirmed Osila’s complaints after they
personally checked on his condition June 21. Norilyn Garcia, CHR-Bicol
chief investigator, and Rey Matosiaos, CHR investigator, said Osila bore several
torture marks. Garcia was quoted in media reports saying, "He had a large
green-and-violet-colored hematoma on the right portion of his back; there were
also visible depressions in the spaces between the fingers of his right hand,
and there were black spots on the back of his left hand, due to electrocution."
Maj. Jose Broso, commander
of the military’s 2nd Civil Relations Division denied the charges.
"The Philippine Army does not practice torture,” he said. Lt. Col. Edmundo Malabanjot
is the commanding officer of the 65th IB.
International Day in support of victims of torture Meanwhile, a Hong Kong
based non-government organization monitoring human rights issues in Asia said in
a statement that torture is “practiced with impunity and without fear of
prosecution” in the Philippines. The Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) said on June 23 that in the Philippines, “torture [is]
practiced with impunity and without fear of prosecution” despite the prohibition
of its use stipulated in the country’s 1987 constitution and the country’s
participation to the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). “..But the government’s
failure to criminalize the practice of torture has virtually shielded the
police, military and other public officials from prosecution for ordering or
torturing others, thus creating an environment of impunity,” the statement said.
“Although the government’s law enforcement agencies have denied the practice of
torture by their ranks, reality in the country suggests otherwise.” The statement also said
that “in most cases, allegations of torture are not investigated.” And even if
the victims intends to seek legal remedies, the statement added,
there is no law against torture in the country yet. It further said that
“forced confessions obtained from suspects through the use of torture, instead
of investigations with the aid of scientific methods of gathering evidence,
remain the usual practice by law enforcers.” AHRC called on the
Philippine government to criminalize the practice of torture
without delay. AHRC issued the statement
in the observance of the United Nation International Day in Support of the
Victims of Torture which falls on June 26. Similar reports have been
issued by the Amnesty International, an international rights watchdog based in
London. Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.