The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Negros Oriental has appealed to members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the Philippine Army, to ensure that proper protocol is followed during the arrest of a suspect or the invitation of a person to the police station for questioning.
Dr. Jesus Cañete, Ph.D., lone special investigator of the CHR-Negros Oriental, noted that in a number of instances, protocols were breached by either the police or military, which could mean possible human rights violations by persons of authority.
Cañete was referring to suspects in either criminal or insurgency-related cases who either voluntarily surrendered or are apprehended in the mountains and are brought to the police station for proper disposition.
He disclosed that some police personnel had admitted that when a suspect or a person of interest was turned over to them, they simply write it down as a police blotter entry and release that person without further information.
“I am concerned with the process being adopted by the PNP and the Philippine Army when bringing a person to the police station without taking an affidavit and not complying with requirements under the law,” said Cañete.
If a person is detained without having gone through the proper procedures, “we (CHR) will be holding the police responsible” if anything happens to that person while in their custody, Cañete further said.
The police cannot simply just receive a person that was handed over to them by the military, the barangay tanod (village patrols) or any law enforcer for that matter without narration of facts behind that person’s arrest or his being brought to the police station, the CHR chief went on to say.
“We have to be very careful with this. Otherwise, the police or other law enforcers can be charged with arbitrary detention or unlawful arrest”, Cañete added.
Dr. Cañete raised this concern during Monday’s meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Bantay Bayanihan, attended by key officials of the PNP, Philippine Army, provincial government, government agencies and offices, and non-government organizations, among others.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=627073
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