of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

The absence of a law on torture means that neither the police nor the
DSWD feels beholden to torture victims. The police cannot be charged
for having committed torture. The social welfare staff cannot be held
liable for their negligence or inaction.
The AHRC supports Senator Aquilino Pimentel’s call that the chief of
police Gen. Arturo Lumibao conduct an investigation into the victims’
allegations. The Police Regional Office of the Cordillera Administrative
Region and Provincial Police Office of Benguet must answer the
accusations against them. The accused officers should be immediately
suspended until an investigation is concluded, and a decision made
regarding the filing of charges before quasi-judicial bodies and the courts
if probable cause is established.
The police and military in the Philippines will continue to use torture as
their primary means of investigation until a law makes their practices
illegal, and perpetrators are prosecuted. The constitution and the
Convention against Torture will only have meaning in the Philippines
when the government recognises its obligations under these laws to
treat torturers as criminals. The government’s delay in introducing such
a law is completely unacceptable and without justification.
The Asian Human Rights Commission again calls on the president of the
Philippines to place the passing of a law to criminalise torture among
the government’s top priorities. Members of parliament too must ensure
that this law is passed without delay, so that no more Filipinos are
denied the possibility of remedy and redress. The enactment of this law
is a precondition to the protection and improvement of all human rights
in the Philippines.
Windel Bolinget & others: Constant threats
In January 2006, three human rights defenders in Baguio City,
Luzon were facing serious threats.
Joan Carling, a member of the Cordillera People’s Alliance,
was followed by two suspicious-looking persons riding on a
motorcycle while on her way home from the office. On February
10, her car was broken into while parked outside her house, and
the lock to her house door also destroyed.
Meanwhile, Windel Bolinget, the alliance’s secretary general,
and Manny Loste, the Cordillera coordinator of the Bayan Muna
party, have also noticed that they have been followed when going
home. An attempt was also reportedly made to abduct the wife of
the alliance’s vice chairperson, Ampi Mangile, but she resisted
and escaped.
Earlier, in October 2005 there was an attempted break-in at
the alliance’s office. The perpetrators cut off the electric supply
and phone lines. They were about to enter the office block after
destroying the gate’s padlock when a member of staff who was
sleeping inside the office was awakened by the noise. The
perpetrators ran away after they were yelled at. In December,
vans with tinted windows were often seen parked near the office,
and the security guards received several phone calls warning
them to leave.
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VICTIMS:
1. Windel Bolinget
2. Joan Carling
3. Wife of Ampi Mangile
4. Manny Loste
INCIDENT:Intimidation
Intimidation
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Unidentified men
DATE: January 2006
AHRC UA-067-2006
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 109