Amnesty International slams secret police torture tactics

MANILA, Philippines - Advocacy group Amnesty International on Monday decried the newly discovered secret detention cell where cops torture detainees "for fun" in Biñan, Laguna.

In a statement, Amnesty researcher for the Philippines Hazel Galang-Folli called on the Aquino administration to put an end to what the group calls "authorities' pitiful lack of control over the police force in the country."

"For police officers to use torture for fun is despicable. These are abhorrent acts. Suspending officers is not enough. Errant police personnel and their commanding officers should be held accountable in a court of law," Folli said.

On Friday, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) found an unlisted police intelligence facility with a roulette inside marked with code names for torture such as "Paniki," meaning that an inmate would be hung upside down like a bat for 30 seconds.

Relieved from their posts at the Philippine National Police Laguna Provincial Intelligence facility were 10 cops including a police chief inspector and two special police officers after some inmates were found to have bruises, blood stains and other injuries.

"Torture is a criminal act, and the leadership of the Philippine National Police must end its practice within its ranks. The authorities must ensure that torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is not tolerated," Folli said.

CHR had said that police officers' drinking sprees would also lead to further torture and maltreatments of the inmates.

Detainees, arrested for drug-related cases, said that they were subject to torture from the first day at the facility purportedly to squeeze out information from them.

"It is gravely concerning and inexcusable that almost three decades after the Philippines ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and five years after it has promulgated the Anti-Torture Law, the message that torture should be absolutely prohibited in all circumstances seems to have failed to reach the police," Folli added.