The Signing of RA 9745 or Anti-Torture Law, A Triumph of Peoples’ Movement

CTUHR welcomes the signing of Anti-Torture Law as a positive development in the people’s painstaking struggle against human rights violations in the country.  The problem of torture has long pestered not only the victims of both legal and illegal arrests but also their families who share the trauma with their loved ones. Torture had long been condemned by local and human rights organizations and been subject of various lobbying efforts but also long been denied by the government that it exists. The passing of the law is to a large extent a triumph of these efforts.

RA 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law was signed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo  last November 10 amidst international and public pressure, more than two decades after the Philippine government acceded to the UN Convention Against Torture. Looking at the circumstances when the law was signed, it appears that it is an attempt of makeover by the current administration to polish its image and salvage itself and her candidates in the eve of national election.

Arroyo’s approval of RA 9745 comes almost at the same time as the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the country last week. Whether the signing is meant to please her or simply to stem the international pressure, the act will not cloud the criticisms against the administration’s notorious record of human rights violations (HRVs).

Notwithstanding the political motive, getting the law signed is an initial triumph of the people’s movement.  RA 9745 criminalizes torture defined as an act of intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering for the purpose of extracting information or confession. Torture can be physical, mental, psychological, or pharmacological (use of drugs).

The law penalizes torturers and their superiors in law enforcement bodies (military, police etcetera) that ordered the torture and outlaws any justification for torture and other inhuman punishments. It imposes on torturers a minimum penalty of six months to twelve years of imprisonment and maximum penalty of life imprisonment depending on the magnitude of the crime. Under this law, the military and police are also required to provide monthly reports listing their detention centers and safehouses to the Commission on Human Rights. The protection of complainants, witnesses and other parties involved in the prosecution as well as the rehabilitation of the victims are also provided in the said law.

Just the beginning

Though RA 9745 is a several steps forward in the struggle for human rights protection, its success in deterring if not ending torture relies heavily on the government political will to effectively implement the law. This will be far more challenging than the having the law signed, given the executive branch record of creating complex, incomprehensible and diluted implementing rules and regulations.. 

To date, there are more than a thousand cases of extrajudicial killings and more than 200 cases of enforced disappearances committed under Arroyo’s administration. Victims of torture such as the striking workers who were abducted and subsequently dumped on ditches close to Cavite Export Processing Zone constantly live in constant trauma.   Thus, the Arroyo government could still use its remaining months in power to show even a bit of sincerity by immediately implementing the law.

On the other hand, the peoples’ organizations must not let their guards off to ensure that the law is implemented, that the torture is stopped even in the post Arroyo administration,  The CTUHR will continue to work hard and contribute to this endeavor.#