AHRC-OL-004-2006
9 March 2006
An Open Letter to the City Police Director of the General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO)
Senior Superintendent Alfredo Toroctocon
City Police Director
General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO)
Camp Fermin G. Lira
9500 General Santos City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No.: +63 83 554 6606
Pages: 2
Dear Sr. Supt. Toroctocon,
PHILIPPINES: Brutal beating of a person by the police was not a “justifiable degree of force”
The Asian Human Rights Commission is in receipt of your letter dated 21 January 2006 in which you deny allegations of torture on Haron Abubakar Buisan by elements of the General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO), and in particular the Special Weapon and Tactics (Swat), to which you are the Director.
Although not referring directly to Buisan’s case, you wrote that a certain “justifiable degree of force” could be applied as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) when a person resisted arrest in order to immobilise him. Do you subscribe as justifiable your police’s act of allegedly brutally beating Buisan even though there was no resistance on his part and that he was already in their custody?
We are aware that Buisan was kicked and repeatedly beaten all over his body with a stone following his arrest on 12 December 2005. We are also aware that Buisan was beaten despite there being no justifiable circumstance for the police to use force on him. He was not armed and did not resist when arrested at a police checkpoint. We are also aware that while he was subjected to custodial investigation at your headquarters, he was tortured further.
You mentioned that the Miranda Doctrine was observed by your men when arresting Buisan. Are you claiming that there was no violation when the arresting officers failed to inform Buisan of the nature of the charges against him upon arrest, to show him the valid warrants for his arrest, to inform him of his right to remain silent, and in denying him legal counsel of his choice while under custodial investigation?
If indeed these procedures and the doctrine were observed by your police during Buisan’s arrest, why are there reports regarding allegations of irregularities in the conduct of arrest, detention and treatment of the victim while in police custody? Furthermore, why have the police reportedly not been transparent with the victim’s family, in particular in providing them the results of the victim’s medical examination?
While we recognise the order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) by Judge Isaac Alvero V. Moran issued on 23 December 2005 denying the victim’s application for habeas corpusand subsequently confirming that Haron Abubakar Buisan and Ariel Bansalao, a person charged for robbery with homicide are the same, we strongly maintain the this does not give the police immunity in torturing the victim.
The use of torture in any circumstance is totally unacceptable. This is evident in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article 3, Section 12 (2) which stipulates that: “no torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him (any persons)”. Additionally, the Republic Act 7438 stipulates the rights of persons arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, which were clearly violated in this case.
We deeply regret that you have justified the acts of your men while arbitrarily denying the victim of his constitutional rights. We are extremely disappointed that no appropriate investigation was conducted and that the police involved have not had to answer to the allegations made against them. We urge you to take effective steps to comply with the existing complaint mechanism in the police service.
We are deeply concerned by the continued denial of appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation for the victim to ensure his full recovery. As the arresting officers, the local police are obligated according to law to ensure the victim’s health. We are completely unaware of any intervention made by your office on this matter.
We take this opportunity to inform you of the order issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Oscar Noel on 17 January 2006 to conduct a reinvestigation into the charges of robbery with homicide against Buisan. We were informed that contrary to the earlier ruling, there is now reasonable ground to look into the victim’s claim of mistaken identity. We urge your full cooperation on this matter.
We trust that you will take effective action in this case.
Yours sincerely,
Kate Hurst
Urgent Appeal Programme Coordinator
Asian Human Rights Commission
