CHR to probe torture claim of 2 detainees in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Two women are claiming that four Manila policemen reportedly poured boiling oil on their partners to make them confess to robbery and snatching, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said yesterday.

Lawyer Carmen Rosete, who heads the CHR-National Capital Region office’s protection and monitoring unit, said Barbie Malig and Charito Tiamson asked help from the agency, saying their loved ones were tortured in their detention cell at a Manila police station.

“We’ve already sent a team to verify the complaint, check the incident as well as the condition of the alleged victims,” Rosete said.

Detainees Jerry Diaz, 37 and Rommel Perez, 29, are reportedly involved in snatching and robbery. Diaz is Tiamson’s live-in partner while Malig came to Perez’s defense.

Though the complainants failed to get the names of the police officers, Rosete explained there is a way to trace the names of the erring police officers by checking the records of the victims’ arrest.

She added that if their report shows that the complaints have basis, criminal and administrative cases can be filed against the policemen.