Arroyo signs anti-torture law
11/13/2009 | 07:33 PM
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration has been linked to the extra-judicial killings of activists, has signed into law a bill criminalizing torture and other inhuman punishment.
Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law of 2009, which prescribes penalties ranging from one-month imprisonment to life sentence for the crime of torture, last Nov. 10 but it was only announced by Malacañang on Friday.
RA 9745 defines torture as an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for purposes such as obtaining information, or intimidating another person.
Commission on Human Rights chairperson Leila de Lima called the signing of the law a “historic moment for human rights in the Philippines."
“The passage of the Anti-Torture Law provides, with greatest clarity, the declaration not only of a 'no torture policy' but matches this with the accountability in certainty of proportionate punishment when torture indeed takes place," she said in a statement sent to the media on Friday.
Quezon City Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights, said the passage of the law is a step towards putting a stop to the “culture of impunity" in the country.
In 2007, United Nations rapporteur Philip Alston reported that the Arroyo administration, through the military, has been carrying out a national policy of torturing and killing activists. Malacañang has repeatedly denied Alston’s report.
Tañada also noted that the signing of RA 9745 has taken the Philippine government a step closer to fulfilling its international obligations, the country being a signatory of the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. [See: Palace gets 'rebuke' from Alston over unsolved political killings]
The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) welcomed the signing of the law, but at the same time, challenged the government to enforce its provisions to the fullest.
“Let not this government’s commitment against torture be only on paper. There must be a serious effort in rooting out this rights abuse within institutions like the police and the military," Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said in a text message. - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV
Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law of 2009, which prescribes penalties ranging from one-month imprisonment to life sentence for the crime of torture, last Nov. 10 but it was only announced by Malacañang on Friday.
RA 9745 defines torture as an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for purposes such as obtaining information, or intimidating another person.
Commission on Human Rights chairperson Leila de Lima called the signing of the law a “historic moment for human rights in the Philippines."
“The passage of the Anti-Torture Law provides, with greatest clarity, the declaration not only of a 'no torture policy' but matches this with the accountability in certainty of proportionate punishment when torture indeed takes place," she said in a statement sent to the media on Friday.
Quezon City Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights, said the passage of the law is a step towards putting a stop to the “culture of impunity" in the country.
In 2007, United Nations rapporteur Philip Alston reported that the Arroyo administration, through the military, has been carrying out a national policy of torturing and killing activists. Malacañang has repeatedly denied Alston’s report.
Tañada also noted that the signing of RA 9745 has taken the Philippine government a step closer to fulfilling its international obligations, the country being a signatory of the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. [See: Palace gets 'rebuke' from Alston over unsolved political killings]
The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) welcomed the signing of the law, but at the same time, challenged the government to enforce its provisions to the fullest.
“Let not this government’s commitment against torture be only on paper. There must be a serious effort in rooting out this rights abuse within institutions like the police and the military," Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said in a text message. - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV
