Philippines urged to fix human-rights laws
Amnesty International is calling on the incoming 16th Philippine Congress to close the loopholes in the anti-torture law and two other laws designed to protect human rights.
At the release of the organisation’s 2013 human-rights report on Friday, Amnesty Philippines human-rights officer Romel de Vera presented cases of rights abuses to illustrate the weaknesses of Republic Act No. 9745, RA 6981 and RA 10353.
RA 9745 prohibits torture as well as cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners, while RA 6981 establishes a witness protection, security and benefit programme. The third law, RA 10353, penalises people involved in carrying out enforced disappearances.
De Vera cited the case of Darius Evangelista in which acts of torture and the identities of perpetrators were caught on video in 2010. “Seven policemen were accused, but only two faced charges,” De Vera said, quoting the Amnesty report. “The suspects were initially in police custody, but according to the Commission on Human Rights, they went missing in April 2012 and remained at large.”
Amnesty plans to raise this issue in a report detailing its proposed legislative agenda, which it will send to Congress in July, De Vera said.
“Amnesty recommends that the members of the 16th Congress ensure that the oversight committee on the implementation of the anti-torture act functions as described in the law, and provides sufficient support and resources to the CHR, for it to be able to carry out its duties of visitation, investigation and collection of data on detainees,” the report said.
