PNP gets rare praise from rights groups

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dir. Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde. JHOANNA BALLARAN / INQUIRER.net

The Philippine National Police has earned a stamp of approval from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for stopping its long-held practice of presenting crime suspects in public.

In a statement on Wednesday, the CHR welcomed the directive of PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde, who earlier announced that arrested suspects would no longer be paraded before the media.

Albayalde said he was reviving a 2008 memorandum issued by then PNP chief Jesus Verzosa which banned the practice.

The PNP will “implement a policy that upholds and promotes the constitutional and human rights even of crime suspects,” said Senior Supt. Benigno Durana Jr., PNP spokesperson.

Presumption of innocence

The CHR lauded the move for being in consonance with “human rights standards on due process and presumption of innocence.”

“Our social media account praised this latest development by posting an ‘OK’ card, a stamp of approval for positive policies and programs implemented by the government,” it added.

For the militant group Karapatan, “it is a long overdue correction of a malicious act violative of due process, rights of individuals accused of crimes, especially those who were arbitrarily or illegally arrested on fabricated offenses by the military and/or police.” —Melvin Gascon