Introduction

The drug trade in the Philippines is one of the many major problems that the country
has faced and is still facing up to this very day. Many fall prey to this illegal act due to
intense poverty and lack of educational background to land in a job that could support
one and his family. The government, especially under our incumbent PH President’s
administration, has been exerting magnanimous efforts to resolve the drug problem in
the country by ordering the police force to track down the suppliers and buyers of the
said illegal substances.

Question

In a case where a policeman, acting as a poseur-buyer, arrests an alleged small-time

drug dealer in a certain barangay in the PH, a question arises, which I would like to ask
one of you to give a brief insight. The question is:

If the suspect is stubborn in expressing the truth behind the source of drug trade in the
said barangay, can the policeman resort to means that would compel the suspect to
relay such information, say, like torture?

(Pick classmate to answer; inform classmate ahead of time on how to answer)

Preferred answer: No because under the law, a suspect is presumed innocent until
proven guilty beyond reasonable act. Otherwise, his right to due process is violated.

Constitution (Art. III, Sec. 3 (2), 12 (2), 14 (1 & 2), 17)

To echo the answer of Ms./Mr. ______________, the act of torturing a person is

expressly prohibited under our 1987 Constitution. Art. III

Sec 12-(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which
vitiate the free will shall be used against him…

Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due
process of law.

(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the
contrary is proved…

Sec.3-(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be
inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.

Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

These are the pertinent provisions in the 1987 PH Consti that protects alleged persons
from being extorted of admissions thru violent means such as torture.

Definition of Torture

In People v. Sy (GR No. 186284, 22 June 2009), the Supreme Court acknowledges the
“ anomalous practices of some law enforcers in drug-related cases such as planting
evidence, physical torture and extortion to extract information from suspected drug
dealers or even to harass civilians.”

But what is torture? Sec. 3(a) of RA 9745 or the Anti-torture act of 2009 defines torture as
“ an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him/her or a third person
information or a confession; punishing him/her for an act he/she or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed; or intimidating or coercing him/her or
a third person; or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain
or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of
a person in authority or agent of a person in authority. It does NOT include pain or
Buffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”

So what then are considered as acts of torture?

Examples of Torture

Amnesty International, a global movement of more than 7 million people who

campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all, wrote and sited in a
published work examples of acts of tortures, more often than not committed by
members of the Police Force of the PH:

“Detainees in police custody have been subjected to a variety of methods of torture

including: electric shocks; systematic beatings, punching and kicking; striking with
wooden batons or metal bars; burning with cigarettes; waterboarding; near-
asphyxiation with plastic bags; forcing detainees to assume stressful bodily positions;
being stripped naked and their genitalia tied to a string which was pulled by police
officers; and threatening with death if they refuse to cooperate. “ A majority of these
examples were taken from Sec. 4 of RA 9745.

SPL (Anti Torture Act)

Under the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, torture can be committed in two manners: physical
torture and mental torture. Sec. 5 thereof also defines “other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment as a deliberate and aggravated treatment or
punishment not enumerated under Section 4 of this Act, inflicted by a person in
authority or agent of a person in authority against another person in custody, which
attains a level of severity sufficient to cause suffering, gross humiliation or debasement
to the latter.

These are done in pursuit of attaining relevant information that might instigate the
reason behind the commission of a crime. But assuming that, due to excessive torture to
extort relevant information, that latter was acquired, can the same be used against the
suspect?

Sec. 8 of RA 9745 expressly provides that “ Any confession, admission or statement

obtained as a result of torture shall be inadmissible in evidence in any proceedings,
except if the same is used as evidence against a person or persons accused of
committing torture.”

HRL/IL (UNCAT)

Verily under International Laws, the commission of torture by public or private persons
is also condemned by the United Nations Convention against Torture(UNCAT). The
UNCAT is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the United
Nations, that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment around the world. The Covenant follows the structure of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights(ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Philippines acceded to the UNCAT on June 18th, 1986.

Personal standpoint