Relieving ‘wheel of torturers’ cops not good enough

Relieving the 10 policemen who reportedly tortured at least 29 detainees at a Philippine National Police (PNP) secret detention center in Biñan, Laguna, falls short of delivering justice for the victims. They should be prosecuted and put in jail, along with their superiors who abetted these acts. However, we are skeptical that they will immediately be brought to justice, because no perpetrator has been put in jail for such dastardly crimes.

For instance, the Morong 43 health workers and security guard Rolly Panesa, who filed countercharges using the Anti-Torture Law, have been deprived of justice. The torturers and their superiors have even been promoted to higher posts.

The “wheel of torture” found in the police detention facility in Biñan shows pure brazenness on the part of the torturers. This reveals how deeply instituted torture is in the police and even the Army. Ginagawa nilang laro at biro ang buhay ng tao. (They play with and make fun of people’s lives.) At the very least, the wheel is an insult to our sensibilities as human beings.  It is clear that torture continues as a policy and a practice under the Aquino administration. It is used against political opponents and even among common offenders.

As of Dec. 31, 2013, Karapatan has documented 86 cases of torture under the present administration. Panesa, mistaken for an official of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was beaten black and blue by members of the PNP and the Philippine Army who arrested and interrogated him while in Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna.

Even mentally handicapped persons are not spared. On Feb. 2, 2013, Sayapo Maganyo, a resident of Barangay Halapitan, San Fernando, Bukidnon, was nosing around bodies of soldiers allegedly killed in an encounter with the New People’s Army. Soldiers immediately threatened to stab and shoot him. He was beaten up and forced to give names of “NPA contacts.” Maganyo sustained several bruises and bumps on his head. After the torture, he was brought to a military detachment and was turned over to the PNP. He is now facing charges of attempted murder and violation of the election gun ban.

These are proof that torture or other forms of human rights violations cannot be eliminated by merely enacting laws that criminalize these acts. As long as counterinsurgency programs exist and the culture of impunity prevails, torture and other human rights violations will continue.

—CRISTINA PALABAY,

secretary general, Karapatan,

karapatan@karapatan.org