House panel recommends raps vs cops in Tondo station secret jail

A House committee recommended on Tuesday the filing of charges against police officers who were allegedly behind the secret detention cell found last year inside a police station in Tondo, Manila.

However, the panel said there is not enough evidence to prove the complaints of alleged physical maltreatment, grave coercion, and extortion filed by 12 detainees of the secret cell. Three of the 12 detainees are women.

The committee on human rights approved a draft panel report on the discovery of the secret detention cell at the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) of the Raxabago police station in Tondo in  April last year.

READ: Drug suspects found in secret police cell

The panel said appropriate charges should be filed against the erring policemen from the Manila Police District-Raxabago Police Station 1 under the command of Supt. Robert Domingo, as determined and recommended by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in a letter-complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman.

READ: CHR asks Ombudsman to probe Tondo secret detention cell

Contrary to the claims of police investigators, the committee said the detention cell was indeed concealed, and was in violation of Article III, Section 12 of the Constitution and provisions of Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law.

READ: Tondo cell no secret, police probers say

The fact that the detention cell was concealed from plain view with a bookshelf proved that it was “secret,” the report said.

“The alibi that the bookshelf is being used to supplement security measures is unacceptable taking into account the fact, based on the video presented and as seen on media, that the said detention cell is shut using steel bars and padlock,” it added.

‘Beyond humane conditions’

The panel also found that the circumstances of the detainees inside the secret detention cell was “beyond humane condition and clearly do not meet the standards of the United Nations.”

However, because of conflicting testimonies by the CHR and the Philippine National Police, the alleged physical maltreatment, grave coercion and extortion committed on the 12 detainees of the secret cell were not established in the hearing.

The panel nonetheless said this “does not negate the possibility” of physical maltreatment, grave coercion, and extortion against the detainees.

“The committee also does not omit the fact that fear of reprisal of detainees from police could have affected the verity of the affidavits they executed,” the report noted.

“It is an accepted fact that incidence of physical maltreatment, grave coercion and extortion are realities in other detention facilities,” it added.

Aside from this, the body also recommended a review of the current PNP operational procedures.

The Constitutional mandate of the CHR to conduct unannounced visits to detention cells and to inspect jail and detention facilities should also be ensured and respected by law enforcement officers, the House panel said.  /muf