Rules 51 and 52(1) of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, or the Mandela Rules, state that security searches “shall not be used to harass, intimidate or unnecessarily intrude upon a prisoner’s privacy” and that “intrusive searches shall be conducted in private and by trained staff of the same sex as the prisoner.”
It is with these general international standards in mind that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) expresses grave concern regarding the alleged strip search of relatives of political prisoners in Metro Manila District Jail Annex 4 at Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan City.
Through its Public Assistance and Complaints Desk, CHR received a complaint from Bona Fides Lucania, accompanied by the organisation KAPATID, detailing the alleged incident. According to the victim, she went to the facility on 8 January 2023 to visit her father after nearly three years due to the COVID-19 restrictions. She was then directed to a room—void of doors or curtains for privacy—and was asked to lift her top so the jail custodian may search her upper undergarment for contrabands. Further, the food items they brought in transparent containers were also spliced open and poked with used sticks.
CHR stresses the previously mentioned Mandela Rules as well as the Operations Manual of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) which outlines the following:
- [Searchers] shall apprise any suspected visiting courier/s of contrabands of his/her/their right before any bodily, strip or body cavity search will be done on him/her/them;
- Strip or body cavity search shall be done professionally in the designated search room wherein the searcher is accompanied by the duty personnel who supervises and witnesses search conducted. The searcher must wear latex glove;
- Whenever possible, the searcher must see to it that the person to be searched shall be accompanied by another visitor who shall act as witness the procedures conducted;
- Adheres to related laws (the Magna Carta of Women and Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children) as regard the procedures to be conducted and is sensitive to the rights of the person to be subjected to search;
- Let the visitors sign a waiver for the search he/she/they will undergo.
Based on her lodged complaint, Bona was neither informed of her rights nor was she asked to sign a waiver prior to the search. The victim adds that her husband was not allowed to enter the premises. These compounding circumstances resulted in feelings of shame and degradation.
The Commission affirms that application of BJMP’s search guidelines should not be arbitrary and that searches should not be targeted towards kin of political prisoners. The principles and practice of custodial function must extend impartially to all persons deprived of liberty as well as their families. As the lead agency in the Interim National Preventive Mechanism, CHR shall look into these allegations to ensure that searches are conducted in a manner intended for its purpose, but with utmost respect to individual dignity and privacy.
During the meeting with KAPATID and the victim, Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc also encouraged victims of similar occurrences to report to CHR so we may strengthen our work in improving safety protocols in penitentiaries and detention facilities in the country. We likewise remind BJMP officers and personnel to uphold their own regulations to help ensure government compliance to the humane treatment of the accused and incarcerated. ###