‘Traumatic’ strip searches get 7 jail guards sacked

IMAGE FROM THE BUCOR WEBSITE

MANILA, Philippines — Seven guards of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) were relieved of their duties on Wednesday, pending an investigation into how they conducted body searches at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City last month.

Acting NBP Superintendent Ruben Formosa relieved Correction Officers 1 Karen Soriano, Kiera Iket, Odesa Etong, Ahmor Darasin, Guada Bello, Melowyne Tallongan and Angelique Domingo, BuCor said in a statement.

READ: Wives of political prisoners complain over degrading strip search at NBP

It added that the guards were assigned to Formosa’s office pending an investigation into how they conducted body searches on two women who visited their husbands at the national penitentiary in April.

One of the women, 63-year-old Gloria Almonte, said she was asked to take off her clothes and “squat three times and then bend over while opening my private parts to check for any hidden illegal items.”

“I felt shame during those moments … It felt like my dignity as a human being was being trampled upon,” she added. Almonte is married to political prisoner Dionisio Almonte who was jailed in 2014 on charges of rebellion.

She and the other woman, who asked to be identified only as “Maricel,” filed a complaint on May 6 with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) over the “degrading and traumatic” strip searches.

“While we recognize the importance of maximum security inspection to ensure the safety and security of correctional facilities, it is vital that these security measures do not jeopardize visitors’ fundamental human rights,” the CHR said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Inspections must be conducted in a way that respects the dignity, privacy, and rights of all individuals involved,” it stressed.

Lack of body scanners

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the bureau had to conduct body searches manually because they did not have body scanners.

“In the absence of body scanners, we have to do it manually in the meantime that we are looking for a budget to avail [of] this very sophisticated machine for security screening purposes and to do away with physically removing the person’s clothes or making any physical contact,” Catapang said.

He added that he had already ordered an investigation with Formosa, saying it would “focus on how they conducted their strip search [and] whether they violated protocol on the conduct of [a] strip search being implemented by the bureau.”

Corrections Inspector Abel Ciruela, who is in charge of the NBP maximum security camp, suggested that there was a correlation between the number of visitors who were caught trying to bring contraband into NBP and the number of illegal items confiscated inside the camp. But he did not provide numbers.

DOJ order

According to Ciruela, visitors of inmates are required to sign a waiver of right against unlawful body searches and those who refuse to undergo a strip search may avail of BuCor’s online visitation.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, the Cabinet official in charge of the corrections system, has also ordered an investigation into the alleged violations committed by NBP guards.

In a statement on Wednesday, Remulla ordered the BuCor to “review possible sanctions to be imposed on offending prison officers/personnel” as he assured the public that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would “never tolerate” prison guards who abuse their authority to conduct physical searches on visiting relatives or friends of prisoners.

He reiterated that the DOJ was compliant with international standards or policies on the appropriate conduct of body searches, which are stated in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners.

The said standards, according to Remulla, “underscore that searches should be conducted in a manner that is respectful of the inherent dignity and privacy of the individual being searched.” —WITH A REPORT FROM JACOB LAZARO