7 BuCor officers axed over NBP strip searches

MANILA, Philippines —  The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) yesterday relieved seven officers who are under investigation for conducting strip cavity searches on female visitors of inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), which supervises the BuCor, has ordered an investigation into the allegations of “abusive” strip searches by prison guards.

Acting NBP Superintendent Ruben Formoso signed the order for Corrections Officers 1 Karen Soriano, Kiera Iket, Odesa Etong, Ahmor Darasin, Guada Bello, Melowyne Tallongan and Angelique Domingo to be placed on “attached or unassigned” status with the NBP superintendent’s office.

“The investigation on the seven corrections officers will focus on how they conducted their strip search, whether they violated protocol on the conduct of strip search being implemented by the bureau,” he said.

NBP’s maximum camp security commander Abel Ciruela 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 contraband.”

Ciruela pointed out, however, that visitors are given a form to sign that would allow officers to frisk, pat, rub, strip or conduct a visual cavity search.

Visitors who do not submit to the search may avail themselves of online visitations instead, he added.

BuCor chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the bureau is still looking for funds to purchase body scanners “for security screening purposes and to do away with physically removing the person’s clothes or making any physical contact.”

In the absence of these machines, “we have to do it manually,” he said.

‘Decent’ prisons

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla assured the public that prison guards proven guilty of abuse will not be tolerated.

“We do not condone degrading, inhuman or absurd treatment toward anyone because we want our prisons to be safe, secure and decent,” he said in a statement.

Remulla noted that the DOJ is strictly compliant with international standards and policies on the conduct of body searches, especially the rules under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners or the Nelson Mandela Rules, which mandate that searches be conducted in a manner that is respectful of the dignity and privacy of the individual being searched.

Proper decorum of prison guards conducting physical searches is also highlighted under the BuCor operating manual, according to Remulla.

The DOJ chief issued the statement in response to allegations by the wives of political prisoners that they underwent “degrading, humiliating and traumatic” strip searches during a visit to the NBP on April 21.

The wives, assisted by human rights organization Kapatid, filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) over the weekend.

In a statement yesterday, the CHR said its Investigation Office and the Prevention Cluster is looking into the complaint.

The CHR reiterated its previous statement following a similar complaint at the Manila City Jail Annex 4, where the commission stressed that the search guidelines of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology “should not be applied arbitrarily and that searches should not be directed at the families of political prisoners.”

“Inspections must be conducted in a way that respects the dignity, privacy and rights of all individuals involved,” the CHR said. –  Janvic Mateo