MANILA, Philippines?A very thin stick inserted into a man?s urethra until blood is drawn, needles stuck into a woman?s nipples, a plastic bag pulled over a suspect?s head with the intent to suffocate...

These are among the instruments employed to force suspects to rat on their cohorts, according to a police official who claimed to have used torture to get needed information on the location of a kidnap victim. The information, he said, also led to the arrest of the abductors.

?It [Torture] is an effective tool to extract information, but not a means to instill discipline, as what the policemen at the Asuncion precinct [in Tondo, Manila] did,? the source said.

He spoke with the Inquirer on the condition that he would not be identified, and to emphasize that, at present, torture or inflicting extreme physical pain on arrested suspects was no longer tolerated.

?We now have a very strong human rights awareness, and because of it, even law enforcers think twice about using torture as last resort,? he said. ?Because if they are caught, the [ones considered] evil are the policemen, not the criminals.?

The source said he had the rank of inspector when he was part of a team that rescued a kidnap victim and arrested two of the abductors separately?in the provinces of Isabela and Quezon?in 1995.

He said inflicting extreme pain on a criminal could also wreak havoc on a policeman?s state of mind.

?It was the adrenaline in solving the crime,? he said. ?But I also think of the good outcome. Otherwise, I will wallow in guilt and go crazy.?

The source said the torture that occurred in the Asuncion precinct was a case of brutality and sadism brought about by bloated egos.

?They were toying with the man, an apparent recidivist petty thief who maybe had been warned earlier not to operate in their area, but continued to do so despite warnings,? he said, adding:

?You do not torture a suspect just for the sake of inflicting extreme pain. It should have an objective bigger than torture, and should always be the last resort.?

And as though to justify his previous actions, he said: ?Inflicting extreme physical pain should be done only to suspects who, I am morally convinced, are a part of the crime.?

No visible evidence

The source said his ?favorite method? was suffocation through a plastic bag pulled over a suspect?s head.

?The person jerks when he can no longer breathe. You just have to monitor the situation closely and gauge the person?s capacity to endure it. Or he might die,? the source said.

Suffocation does not usually produce visible evidence of torture, he said, adding that he also did not use iron cuffs on a suspect?s hands and instead used cloth to prevent cuts and bruises that would show.

The source recalled that in the 1990s, agents under his ?supervision? tortured a suspected drug dealer to extract information on the source of the shabu that was proliferating in certain areas of Southern Luzon and Calabarzon.

?We were prepared to render extreme pain on him and employ a bloody method, like maybe a tooth extraction, or inserting a thin stick into his urethra until it bleeds, because he had the profile of a toughie,? the source said. ?But he talked and pointed to us the location of the illegal drugs even before we could start.?

Another method that was commonly used was electrocution, the source said.
?The wire should be placed on the stomach or on the chest, so the person conducting the operation has consistent control,? he said.

Imprimatur

The source pointed out that subordinates would not conduct their own ?experiment? without the approval of higher-ups.

?It always has the imprimatur of superiors, and the command is usually given indirectly?like ?Make him talk,?? he said.

He also said the methods of torture were ?all learned in the academy.?

Policemen usually come from the Philippine National Police Academy and the Philippine Military Academy.

The source also said the conduct of torture was not all serious business.

He narrated that he and his men once arrested a martial arts expert who was adept at holding his breath for a period of time:

?Every time he concentrated, we were the ones who got tired.

?We stopped, and we talked to him. We reminded him that his family could be a target of the drug syndicate, and we promised to help him. Ayun, tumuga (He talked).?