Palace chides Cebu jail officials over photos of naked inmates
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo yesterday said the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) should have been more careful with their operations after photos of CPDRC inmates stripped naked during a drug raid sparked an uproar and triggered accusations of human rights abuses under President Duterte's war on drugs.
As this developed, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma described the stripping naked of inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) by authorities as improper, while an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said those who authorized the reported stripping of inmates should be held liable.
Meantime, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will meet with representatrives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to guide them in their investigation on the matter. Not for public consumption According to Panelo, he did not find anything wrong with stripping the inmates if security was in question.
He, however, said the CPDRC should have been more careful about getting photographed and leaked to the public.
"Sa akin eh kung security ang pag-uusapan, eh siguro kailangang ganoon. Ang dapat lang nila pangalagaan, ang hindi ma-expose sa public ‘yung naked body ng isang bilanggo (Personally, if we're talking about security, then maybe the act was necessary. However, they should have been careful that those naked bodies are not exposed to the public)," he said over Radyo ng Bayan.
Panelo said that those who photographed the scene should not have leaked the photos as it violates the inmates' right to privacy.
"Dapat hindi nila i-publish ‘yun. ‘Yan ang dapat na ingatan nila kasi nilalabag mo na ‘yung privacy naman nung tao (They should not have published that. They should secure and not violate the inmates' right to privacy)," he said. Mutual safety The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Region 7 (PDEA-7) earlier said they are taking full responsibility for ordering the inmates to strip for the mutual safety of the raiders and the prisoners.
PDEA-7 pointed out that also said that if a clothed detainee with a concealed weapon hurt a member of the raiding team, it could have sparked a riot or a stampede.
Panelo echoed this sentiment but reiterated that the raiding team should have ensured that the rights of the detainees were well-protected.
PDEA and anti-narcotics agents seized 80 cellular phones, 19 sachets of shabu, one laptop, two DVD recorders, 60 deadly weapons and R91,000 in cash from the inmates.
‘Not right’ Archbishop Palma said there may be protocols to be followed but law enforcers should not subject inmates to shame.
"Precisely, I said these are improper things to do. Put yourself in the shoes of these people and their families. Is this the best approach?" Palma told reporters.
Accountability
Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, has called on the CHR to look into the incident.
"We call on the CHR to hold into account the people who authorized and executed this," he said.
‘Blatant violation’ Diamante said such action was a "blatant violation" of the dignity of a human and the human rights of the inmates.
"The CBCP ECPPC condemns this manner of the PDEA in carrying out their task," he said.
Earlier, Amnesty International said the incident amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners.
CHR probe
CHR spokesperson Atty. Jackie de Guia said the commission needs to meet the concerned PDEA officers to enable them to come out with vital facts that will enable them to provide accurate results of their investigation of the incident.
She cited the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, emphasizing that "intrusive searches, including strip and body cavity searches, should be undertaken only if absolutely necessary."