SEVEN officers of the Bureau of Corrections were relieved to pave the way for an impartial probe on the complaints of the wives of political prisoners that they were subjected to a “degrading and traumatic” strip search when they visited their husbands at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Relieved were Correction Officers 1 Karen Soriano, Kiera Iket, Odesa Etong, Ahmor Darasin, Guada Bello, Melowyne Tallongan, and Angelique Domingo.
They will be assigned at the NBP Superintendent’s Office while the investigation ordered by BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. is ongoing.
Acting NBP Supt. Ruben Formoso said the investigation on the seven will focus on how they conducted the strip search and whether they violated protocols on the conduct of strip search being implemented by the bureau.
Last Tuesday, Catapang said the agency is willing to be investigated on the complaints filed last Monday before the Commission on Human Rights by two women who claimed they were subjected to strip searches, including body cavity inspections, even though they were not carrying contraband.
One of the complainants, Gloria Almonte, the wife of political prisoner Dionisio Almonte, said she was forced to undergo a strip search last April 21.
“I was made to squat three times and then bend over while opening my private parts to check for any hidden illegal items,” said Mrs. Almonte, whose husband has been in jail for 10 years on rebellion charges.
Fides Lim, spokesperson of Kapatid, a support group composed of families and friends of political prisoners, called for an investigation into the complaints, saying they were violations of national and international laws.
NBP Maximum Security Prison Compound Camp Commander Abel Circuela told reporters during a walkthrough yesterday that strip cavity searches have been performed on all visitors since 2018.
He said the strip cavity search became mandatory due to the number of contraband confiscated inside the camp and the visitors caught who tried to smuggle in prohibited items.
Ciruela said that visitors of inmates are given a waiver of the right to frisk/pat, rub, strip, and/or visual cavity search while those who do not voluntarily submit themselves to undergo the strip cavity search may avail instead of the BuCor’s E-Dalaw or online visitation.
Catapang has justified the strip search, saying it is strictly being implemented in all prison and penal farms of the agency due to the increasing number of visitors caught sneaking in contraband hidden in their private parts.
“We have to be very cautious to prevent the smuggling of contraband into our facilities. In the absence of body scanners, we have to do it manually. In the meantime, we are looking for a budget to avail (of) this very sophisticated machine for security screening purposes and to do away with physically removing the person’s clothes or making any physical contact,” he said.
BuCor records showed about 30 visitors of inmates were apprehended from October 2023 to March 8 this year trying to sneak in contraband, including suspected illegal drugs, concealed in their private parts and others tucked or sewed into their underwear.
THOROUGH PROBE
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the BuCor to conduct a thorough investigation on the complaints and impose sanctions on any erring prison officer.
Remulla assured the public that the DOJ will never tolerate erring prison guards at the national penitentiary and other prison and penal farms operated by the BuCor who are to be proven guilty of abusing their authority to conduct physical searches on visiting relatives or friends of inmates.
“Our department remains fully committed to upholding the highest degree of respect for human rights in the conduct of our Corrections functions and guarantees that our agency will continue to innovate ways on how to improve our services to our persons deprived of liberty and their loved ones,” Remulla said.
“We do not condone degrading or inhuman or absurd treatment towards anyone because we want our prisons to be safe, secure and decent,” he added.
He said the DOJ, as the mother agency of BuCor, is strictly compliant with international standards and policies on the proper conduct of body searches, specifically pertinent rules under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners or the so-called “Nelson Mandela Rules” which underscore that searches should be conducted in a manner that is respectful of the inherent dignity and privacy of the individual being searched.
Remulla said proper decorum of prison personnel conducting physical searches is highlighted under the BuCor Operating Manual on how a proper search must be conducted, providing certain repercussions and penalties against those proven to be carrying illegal contraband.
