Escudero to push for approval of anti-torture bill in bicam

MANILA, Philippines - Opposition Sen. Francis Escudero said yesterday he would push for the approval of a bill penalizing torture during the bicameral conference committee meeting on the proposed measure next week.

“The passage of this bill is especially important in light of the cases of Rebelyn Pitao and Melissa Roxas. I urge my colleagues in Congress to expedite the enactment of this piece of legislation as another way of honoring and preserving the legacy of former President Corazon Aquino,” Escudero said.

Pitao, daughter of a communist rebel commander, was abducted by unidentified armed men while on her way home from St. Peter’s College in Toril District in Davao. She was later found dead in a ditch, her body showing signs of torture, strangulation, rape and stabbing.

Roxas, on the other hand, is a Filipino-American activist who had allegedly been abducted and tortured by soldiers in Tarlac last May.

The Commission on Human Rights is currently investigating her allegations.

Escudero said that Senate Bill 1978 or the Anti-Torture Bill would penalize torturers and their superiors. In some cases, it imposes a sentence of reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, when torture results in death; when there is commission of sexual abuse, as in the case of Pitao, and when committed against children.

The Senate version will have to be harmonized with that of the House of Representatives during the bicameral conference committee meeting.