Rights group warns: Anti-terror law will make torture a 'new normal'

A network of the of civil society organizations and individuals working for the prevention of torture in the Philippines on Sunday condemned what they consider as "treacherous, imminent approval of the proposed anti-terror bill."

In a statement, the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC) said that the proposed new anti-terror law could lead to the institutionalization of the use of torture and ill-treatment of persons in police custody, in the name of counter-terrorism.

"The fast-tracking of the enactment of the new anti-terror bill amid public health emergency due to Covid-19 pandemic shows not only the lack of concern of the Philippine government about the plight of the Filipinos especially the poor who are hit  hardest by the pandemic, but also its propensity to suppress political dissent," the UATC said.

"Suppression of political dissent is an and infringement on the fundamental freedoms and human rights, including the non-derogable right against torture and ill treatment," it added.

Moreover, it said, "the railroading of the bill's passage tramples upon the basic principle of democratic policy-making where all stakeholders are amply heard to ensure that law will serve and protect the governed not those who govern."

The enrolled anti-terror bill, which is just awaiting the President’s signature, amends the Human Security Act of 2007.

Many of its provisions breach not only international human rights standards but also basic constitutional safeguards against human rights violations, the UTAC said.

"It allows warrantless arrests and detention from the current maximum of three days to 14 days, extendable for another 10 days. This critical period during which forced confessions may be extracted can put a detainee at great risk of torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, and even summary execution," it added.

"Torture is prohibited and penalized under Philippine laws. The Philippines as a State party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is under obligation to take a wide array of measures against torture and ill-treatment."

The Anti-Torture Act (ATA) or Republic Act No. 9745 was passed in 2009. It makes torture a separate crime and provides for a number of crucial fundamental guarantees to aid in preventing the commission of torture and assists torture survivors in seeking redress.

But the UATC observes that despite having a domestic legislation criminalizing the act of torture, this abominable practice continues to be perpetrated with the overwhelming majority of reported cases involving the police. The usual pattern shows that torture takes place following an arrest and when suspects are held incommunicado or kept in unofficial and secret detention facilities.

The new Anti-Terror Law will only give the government authorities more room to maneuver and further circumvent other laws to escape accountability especially with the removal of the provision on payment of 500,000 Philippine pesos ($10,000) damages for each day of wrongful detention, the group said.

Nothing in the new anti-terror law really guarantees that authorities will not abuse or misuse the law to exacerbate the prevalence of torture and ill-treatment, it added.  

No draconian provision

Early last week, Malacañang stressed the need for the Philippines to enact a measure that would strengthen the law against terrorism.

President Rodrigo Duterte had asked lawmakers to speed up the passage of the bill seeking to amend the 13-year-old Human Security Act, whose provisions were deemed toothless by the Palace and other policymakers. 

“Wala naman pong draconian na provision diyan. Lahat po ng probisyon diyan ibinase rin natin sa mga batas ng mga iba’t ibang bansa na mas epektibo po ang kanilang pagtrato dito sa mga terorista,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a lawyer, said in a televised briefing. —LBG, GMA News