Bicameral committee reconciles 2 versions of Anti-Torture Bill

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday said Congress is expected to ratify into law the Anti-Torture Bill after the bicameral conference committee has reconciled the two versions of the bill.

The two salient provisions of the bill are the ban on maintaining secret detention places and the need for law enforcement agencies to declare in writing to the Commission on Human Right (CHR) the places maintained for interrogation and detention.

Under the bill, there is no justification for torture and other inhuman punishment, which will be declared as criminal acts.

According to Escudero, persons who participate in acts of torture will be penalized as principals. Their superiors in the military, police or law enforcement establishments who ordered the infliction of physical harm on any victim will also face criminal charges.

Escudero said he hopes that the law would serve as a deterrent to people who are planning to commit such acts.

“Part of this is what we call command responsibility section, where even if you did not commit torture once you are the superior officer of the one who commits the act, you will also have liability, although different from the person who actually committed the act,” he said.

Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, said he expects the Senate and the House of Representatives to ratify the bill within the week because both have agreed on the reconciled version.

“We expect that it won’t take long before the two panels ratify this piece of important legislation on human rights,” he said in Filipino.

Under the reconciled version, the bill focuses on the torture acts of agents or officials of the government. Private individuals will be covered by what is prescribed in the Revised Penal Code.

Escudero said the bill is based on the country’s treaty obligations and international agreements.

“This is one of the aspects that the Alston report has shown lacking or missing in the laws of the Philippines,” he added in Filipino.

The senator was referring to the report prepared by Philip Alston, special rapporteur of the United Nations who investigated unexplained killings in the Philippines.

Alston cited in his report that the Philippines, particularly government officials, failed to address such killings in the country.

Escudero said the present Senate version was a consolidation of torture bills which he co-authored with Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Juan Ponce Enrile and Rodolfo Biazon.

Under the proposed law, the power of the CHR is also strengthened as it is mandated to implement the Anti-Torture Law.

A P5-billion budget is requested for the remaining months of 2009 for the CHR.

Escudero said that Senate Bill 1978 or the Anti-Torture Bill penalizes torturers and their superiors and imposes a sentence of reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, when torture results in death; when there is commission of sexual abuse, as in the case of Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of NPA commander Leoncio Pitao, and when committed against children.

Other penalties range from a minimum of six months to a maximum of 12 years depending on the gravity of the offense.

Other salient provisions of the bill include the protection of complainants and witnesses and persons involved in the prosecution, and the establishment of a rehabilitation program for victims.

“The passage of this bill is especially important in light of the cases of Rebelyn Pitao and Melissa Roxas. I urge my colleagues in Congress to expedite the enactment of this piece of legislation as another way of honoring and preserving the legacy of former President Corazon Aquino,” Escudero said.

Armed men abducted Pitao, a daughter of a communist rebel commander, while she was on her way home from St. Peter’s College in Toril District in Davao. She was later found dead in a ditch, her body showing signs of torture, strangulation, rape and stabbing.

Roxas, on the other hand, is a Filipino-American activist who claims she had been abducted and tortured by soldiers in Tarlac last May. The CHR is currently investigating her allegations. –Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star)