Lawmakers to seek House probe of ‘secret cells’

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) raids Manila Police Station I “lock up cell” where drug suspects allegedly used by cops as milking cow are detained.
Photo by Aie Balagtas See/Inquirer

At least two lawmakers will seek the investigation of the “secret detention cell” uncovered by the Commission on Human Rights at a Manila police station.

Sought for comment, Deputy Minority Leader Harry Roque of Kabayan party-list said in a text message to the Inquirer: “I’m filing [a House resolution] to investigate incident.”

“There will be impunity unless these kinds of cops are prosecuted for their misdeeds,” he said.

READ: Cops behind secret cell no different from criminals, says Lacson

Likewise, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat of the opposition Magnificent Seven bloc told the Inquirer: “I’m asking Congress to conduct an inquiry into this incident. This is beyond politics already.”

The opposition lawmaker also issued a broad appeal for the Philippine National Police “to again suspend operation Tokhang and really punish those guilty of corruption and human rights abuses.”

It may be noted that the government’s controversial antinarcotics campaign has been rebranded Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded in March after it was suspended following the killing of Korean national Jee Ick-joo inside the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame.

For his part, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte who chairs the House dangerous drugs committee, said PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa “should start investigating and check all police stations if there are still secret detention cells.”

Baguilat said the CHR’s discovery bolstered the findings of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International regarding the abuses attending the Duterte government’s war on drugs, including the presence of “kill quotas” and the planting of evidence.

“This is becoming a national scourge. Scalawags in the service are taking advantage of the all-out war on drugs and resorting to extortion and summary killings,” he said.

Roque, who as a lawyer handled high-profile cases before entering Congress, recalled the case of Police Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug, a Manila cop accused of torturing criminal suspect Darius Evangelista in March 2010 after video footage surfaced.

But, he was quick to point out that “this incident proves that police brutality predated war vs. drug.”

The CHR late Thursday found a dozen men and women confined in a dark, cramped and windowless cell hidden behind a bookshelf at the Raxabago police station in Tondo, Manila.

READ: Drug suspects found in secret police cell

Regional director Gilbert Boisner said the alleged drug suspects’ arrests were not even recorded and they were allegedly being subjected to extortion, according to the Inquirer’s Friday banner story.

Section 12 of the Bill of Rights (Article III) under the 1987 Constitution prohibits “secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado or other similar forms of detention.”
In a separate statement, Roque said the Center for International Law, of which he is the founding chairman, would assist the detention victims in filing cases against the Raxabago station personnel.

“We will prosecute those responsible to assist the President in cleansing the ranks of the PNP,” he said.

“The PNP should step back in the manner the war on drugs is being carried out because it appears to embolden scalawags. The PNP leadership should prosecute these miscreants to show resolve to follow the Rule of Law,” Roque added. IDL/rga

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