Amnesty: Philippines police torture with impunity News
Amnesty: Philippines police torture with impunity

[JURIST] Police in the Philippines are committing torture with impunity, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported [report, PDF] Thursday. Although allegations of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment within the police force have increased year after year, AI says that no convictions have resulted [AI report] from these claims. Police officers are purported to “electrocut[e], beat[] and rap[e] detainees for extortion, entertainment or to extract a confession,” and in some cases, the torture has resulted in death. The report provides an extensive list of other torture methods used by the Philippines police, including burning skin with cigarettes, and near-asphyxiation with plastic bags. In 2013 alone there were 75 complaints of torture [AI report], 80 percent of which were cases involving police officers. Although 36 of these cases were investigated, only three were referred for prosecution, and none have resulted in conviction.

The Philippines has taken several measures over the past few years to eradicate torture within the state, but there has been a lack of follow-through [JURIST report]. In November 2012 President Benigno Aquino passed administrative order 35 [text], which created a special prosecutorial task force charged with implementing the Anti-Torture Act in the state. However, the task force is still in training and has yet to have any impact. In August 2010 Darius Evangelista was video-taped being tortured on a mobile phone, which was broadcast on live television, but the case has not been prosecuted. Early in November, AI urged accountability [JURIST report] for torture in the Philippines, noting that five years after the enactment of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 [text, PDF], there have still been no convictions. In April of 2008, the Philippines signed on to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) [PDF text], and in April of 2012 they became the 64th State Party to the OPCAT [APT advocacy website].