The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) strongly condemns the alleged sexual assault committed by a cop and a civilian against a female quarantine violator in Mariveles, Bataan.

Such incident highlights the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence, especially during the pandemic. Abuse of police powers fundamentally betrays the trust that communities and individuals place in the police. When people are already in fear of contracting the virus, this unconscionable conduct of the police creates additional fear and impacts the public’s confidence in the capacity of law enforcement to ensure their rights are safeguarded.

The Commission recognises the urgent action of the Philippine National Police chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar on the investigation and dismissal of the erring cop. We continue to urge the government to send an unequivocal message to law enforcement officials that sexual violence in custody will not be tolerated, and to put in place preventative measures to deter such human rights violations among the police ranks.

Consistent to its mandate as the country’s Gender Ombud, an independent CHR investigation will be conducted to shed light on the incident. ###