Arroyo signs law banning torture

MANILA – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed what a senior Malacanang official described as a landmark law that makes torture of individuals a criminal offense punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Moreover, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the law, officially known as the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, is in line with the Philippine commitment as signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Tortur and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The UN Convention also categorizes torture as an international crime and creates mechanisms to denounce it.

Remonde revealed President Arroyo signed the law on November 10, two days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Manila for a one-day visit before joining US President Barack Obama for his first-ever visit to Asia to attend in Singapore a meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic (Apec) forum November 14 to 15.

Earlier, the US State Department expressed grave concerns over the state of human rights in the country, which has been punctuated by extra-judicial killings, also known as “salvaging,” of militants, lawyers, journalists and members of religious groups.

Under the law, Remonde said persons found guilty of torture can be imprisoned from a minimum of six months and up to a maximum of life in jail.

“The law is a concrete demonstration of this (Arroyo) administration’s commitment to human rights,” Remonde pointed out.

The law defines torture as an “act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted for the purpose of obtaining information or confession by or at the instigation or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in authority or his agent.”

It classifies torture as physical, mental and psychological. Physical torture, it adds, includes electric shocks, food deprivation, systematic beating and rape.

On the other hand, mental or psychological torture includes acts by a person in authority or his agent calculated to affect or confuse the mind or undermine a person’s dignity and morale.

According to the law, these include blindfolding, threatening a person or his family with wrongful acts, solitary confinement, prolonged interrogation, shame infliction, and maltreating a member or members of a person’s family.

Severo Castura, the executive director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, said the law adheres to the UN Convention Against Torture as he pointed out: “While there are concerns (on the state of human rights), the UN and other international bodies also cite the strides we have achieved over the last few years.”

In a recent symposium, the Commission on Human Rights and human rights advocates urged President to sign the law which was enacted by the 10th Congress of the Philippines in response to the Philippine commitment to the UN Convention Against Torture.

The militant group “Bagong Alyansang Makabayan” (Bayan or New Pro-People Alliance) welcomed the signing of the law but stressed its enforcement and implementation should not be on paper only.

A Bayan spokesman said that despite the signing, there’s still a long way to go before the government can truly say it has eliminated all kinds of torture in the country.

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