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“I want to see them rot in jail. These officers, owing from their corrupt institution, were cruel. They do not respect people or care about rights; they will surely do this again to someone else if given the opportunity, falsely charging another person for money."
Only four police men were charged in the torture and illegal detention of Rolly Panesa, while their high-ranking officers are scot-free.
Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, signed into law under then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but the way the government has been handling cases filed under the said law lends truth to the legal maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Erwin Rosales, one of the witnesses against Rosal, was the same witness used by the military against security guard Rolly Panesa who was eventually ordered released by the Court of Appeals after finding inconsistencies in the statements of the military.
"The recent resolution of the Court of Appeals denying the motion for the re-arrest of security guard Rolly Panesa strengthens the anti-torture case he filed against his arresting officers and interrogators," Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights alliance Karapatan.
Bulatlat.com MANILA – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) added its voice to demands of human rights groups, youth groups, teachers and scientists calling for the release of UP professor Kim Gargar, who is presently being detained in the Davao Oriental...
Asked for an official definition of “neutralization,” DND officials, citing another joint DND-DILG memorandum, said that it is “any counteraction intended to render any subject ineffective or inoperative using reasonable force such as physical restraint and similar acts.” DND said that the term “render ineffective” might include killing if it is “reasonable.”
"I knew I was beaten up because my eyes, lips and cheeks were swollen. There was blood in my ears."
In its decision, the Court of Appeals noted inconsistencies and lies in the statements of the police and the military.
“Aquino cannot dismiss torture victims as isolated cases, and not a government policy, because torture is resorted to all over the country as a component of its Oplan Bayanihan.” – Karapatan
By JULIUS D. MARIVELES
“It seems that they [the military] do not know the difference between a placard, a microphone and an M-16 rifle.” – Christian Tuayon, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The relatives of Rolly Panesa, the security guard who was mistakenly arrested by the military, said in their petition that Panesa’s personal circumstances “belie the claims of those who arrested him that he is ‘Benjamin Mendoza’ and this can be verified through proper inquiry and investigation.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Not only was he illegally arrested, detained and mistaken for somebody else, Rolly Panesa was even tortured to admit that he is allegedly the communist leader Benjamin Mendoza. Yet, his government-issued IDs – one was issued by the Philippine National Police – showed he is not who the military claims him to be.
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