Govt creates 3 bodies to probe 'police torture'

The government quickly created at least three separate bodies to investigate the disturbing video of an alleged thief being tortured inside what appears to be a police community precinct in Manila. The National Police Commission (Napolcom), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Commission on Human Rights all vowed on Wednesday to get at the bottom of the torture incident that allegedly happened inside the police community precinct in Asuncion, located in Manila’s mostly plebeian Tondo district. The video footage, said to have been taken by a cellphone camera, showed a naked man lying on the floor in a fetal position. The man is seen twitching every time another man seated next to him — believed to be a policeman — pulled a string attached to the naked man's body. Reportedly, the naked man later died. President Benigno Aquino III, who has yet to see the video but learned about it through text, said the policemen being blamed for the torture also deserve due process, but said they would get punished if proven guilty. "They just say that there is a presumption of innocence that have been proven guilty... But at the end of the day, it is clear that torture is not a policy of this government. When it did happen, then they have to be prepared to receive the appropriate penalties and sanctions," he said. PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa also condemned the incident, saying the national police will not tolerate such abusive acts among its members. “Any form of brutality and abuse of authority by PNP personnel will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly and decisively according to our own disciplinary rules and internal policy," Verzosa said. Precinct chief relieved Meanwhile, Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered the relief of the Asuncion PCP chief Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug and all his men. As DILG chief, Robredo is also chairman of the Napolcom en banc that makes decisions on major police administrative matters. The Napolcom investigative committee will be headed by Director Owen de Luna of the agency's Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Services. Napolcom spokesman Kite Tan said the Napolcom and PNP investigations will seek to determine administrative liability of the Manila policemen embroiled in the incident. She said they could face charges of grave misconduct. "Pagsasamahin namin lahat ng resulta ng PNP at Napolcom at pupunta lahat iyan kay Sec. Robredo [We will consolidate the results and Sec. Robredo will have the final say]," said Tan. Separate criminal charges could be filed in court against the police officers, she added. For its part, the CHR has started a motu proprio investigation on the matter, since no formal human rights complaint has yet been filed before the rights body. “A few families have already contacted the CHR and the Napolcom to claim that they are related to the unidentified torture victim," said Commissioner Cecilia R.V. Quisumbing, who was designated to speak for the CHR on the matter. Victim's 'friend' A person who claimed to be a friend of the victim told GMANews.TV in an interview that the man in the video was Vicente Orbigo and that the incident happened last Friday night. The person's claims could not be immediately verified with authorities. The source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said Orbigo's family had planned to have his body cremated on Saturday, intending to no longer bring up the matter to authorities. "Pero nung nakita nila sa TV, nagdadalawang isip na silang ipa-cremate kasi baka pwede pa nila ipa-re-autopsy [But after they saw the clip on TV, they’ve been having second thoughts about cremating him, because they might opt for a re-autopsy)," the friend said. The person also said Orbigo's family was informed about his death by a funeral parlor, which said that he sustained four gunshot wounds on the head. The family learned that Orbigo was tortured only after seeing the report about the incident. Orbigo's supposed friend said it has been almost a year since Orbigo was released from jail. "Nakulong na yan dati. Pero kahit na, dapat hindi siya ganun tinrato (He was already jailed before. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t have been treated that way)." Congress Meanwhile, three lawmakers on Wednesday filed a resolution condemning the "torture" incident. In House Resolution 256, Bayan Muna Reps. Teddy Casiño and Neri Colmenares and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III jointly said the brazen and inhumane acts showing complete disregard for human rights and due process not only put the country’s law enforcement service to shame, but left alone, will strengthen the culture of impunity. They said Congress is compelled to condemn such a gross violation of a landmark law that criminalized torture. “Congress has to send the message that it will never tolerate such inhuman and cruel acts." For its part, the Senate is already studying the possibility of conducting an investigation on the same incident. "I saw the video this afternoon. I don't like what I saw. I asked Sen. Honasan to study the possibility of conducting an inquiry in aid of legislation to ferret out these things," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told reporters in an interview. Honasan, head of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, said his committee will first wait for the report of the police before it begins the investigation. But Senator Francis Escudero, head of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, said that what happened should serve as a "wakeup call" for the government. "Wake up call ito para sa pamahalaang ito at para rin sa ating kapulisan, na ito ay nagaganap sa ating paligid (This is a wakeup call for this government and also for our police forces, that this is happening around us)," he said in an interview. Escudero likewise said that the police should be stricter in implementing the law, where torture is punishable by 12 to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than P10,0000. —With reports from Kimberly Jane Tan, Amita Legaspi, and Jam Sisante/JV, GMANews.TV