Intentional

'Mass strip photo purposedly leaked to discredit ops'

CHIEF Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo is not denouncing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) for stripping naked the inmates of Cebu provincial jail for a surpise inspection but said it should have not been leaked in public.

Panelo said on Saturday that PDEA should have been more careful in releasing the photo in public earlier this week, showing hundreds of stripped prisoners while being seached for contraband at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

“Personally? For me, if you talk about security, perhaps, that should be done. What they should have taken care of is that the naked body of an inmate must not be exposed in public,” Panelo said.

“But if that happened only inside jail and they were the only ones who saw it, I think, that’s all right for security process,” he added.

A photo of CPDRC inmates ordered to strip naked during the Tuesday’s raid by Pdea operatives has drawn the ire of the public after it went viral in social media. Many have denounced the “inhumane” act of the authorities.

Reports said PDEA were able to recover 76 cellular phones, illegal drugs worth P30,000 and cash amounting to P92,000, laptops and media players during the surprise inspection.

PDEA General Isidro Lapeña said Thursday that the photo was “intentionally” leaked by jail officers to discredit the operations.

The Commission on Human Rights already conducted an investigation on Friday regarding the incident to find out whether the inmates’ rights were violated.