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Jimmy Balulao, To Akmad and Esmael mamalangkas, 4 to
answer in court after the security forces had them arrested
in Cotabato City on April 8, 2002, over allegations that they
were involved in a bomb blast in Davao City. The case of
Pegie Boquecosa, 5 further exemplifies this problem. He was
arrested by the police on September 11, 2002, in maasim,
Sarangani, but it was only in October 2005, three years after
his arrest and subsequent detention, that he was charged
in court. The prosecutor, Alfredo Barcelona Jr., attached to
the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in Alabel, Sarangani,
had failed to resolve whether there was probable cause to
charge Boquecosa in court. It was another prosecutor who
finally resolved the case, but Mr. Barcelona has reportedly
not been held to account for his neglect.
1.10. Delays prevent torture complaints: In the first two of
the three cases in the paragraph above, the victims have
not been able to file complaints in court concerning the
torture to which they were allegedly subjected while in police
custody, because the case the police filed against them has
not yet concluded.
1.11. The ‘Presumption of Regularity’ used to justify torture
and provide impunity: with regard to the justification of
torture by superior officers, pre-emptive impunity is being
granted to members of security forces accused of torturing
and/or illegally detaining torture victims. Such perpetrators
are protected from prosecution even before allegations
against them can be investigated, because government
agencies tasked with investigating complaints, such as
the mOLEO and public prosecutors, are able to invoke
the ‘presumption of regularity’ to exonerate such persons
before investigations are conducted and concluded. This
presumption is meant to apply only when the performance of
the officers’ duties has been regular, but it is being misused
to unjustifiably cover all acts by members of the security
forces. Even in cases in which serious allegations have
been made concerning irregularities in the performance of
officers’ duties, this doctrine has still been invoked.
1.12. An example of pre-emptive impunity: gemma Lape, 6 a
labour activist, was threatened with death by a police officer
in Rosario, Cavite after having been arbitrarily arrested and
detained on September 28, 2006. The court later ordered
that she and her colleagues be released after charges against
them were dropped. On January 8, 2008, the mOLEO
resolved to “close and terminate” the investigation they
4 Please see further case details in Annex I, Case No. 23.
5 AHRC-UAU-064-2008: A man is continuously held for six years without trial.
6 AHRC Urgent Appeals; UP-195-2006: Arrested eight workers released; false
charges remain.
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