In the Know: Anti-Torture Act of 2009
MANILA, Philippines—In November 2009, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act No. 9745, or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, which penalizes physical acts by persons in authority or their agents that cause “severe pain, exhaustion, disability or dysfunction” on detainees as well as mental or psychological acts “calculated to affect or confuse the mind or undermine a person’s dignity and morale.”
The law also outlaws secret detention places and solitary confinement, and provides for rehabilitation of victims and compensation. It prescribes penalties ranging from imprisonment of one month and one day to six months, to reclusion perpetua (20 years and one day to 40 years), depending on the gravity of the acts committed.
In August 2010, Senior Insp. Joselito Binayug, a Manila police precinct commander, was caught in camera torturing a suspected robber by hitting the naked victim and tugging at a string tied to his genitals each time he failed to answer questions. Binayug was dismissed in January 2011. He was arrested and charged with violating the Anti-Torture Act in April 2013.
The human rights group Karapatan has recorded 80 torture victims from July 2010 to August 2013. Inquirer Research
Sources: Inquirer Archives, Karapatan Monitor
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