The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) calls for the immediate passage of pending bills establishing a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). The enactment of an NPM law is long overdue and remains essential to preventing torture, ill-treatment, and other human rights violations against persons deprived of liberty.

For persons deprived of liberty, the absence of an independent preventive mechanism allows risks such as overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, poor sanitation, prolonged detention, and other conditions that may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment to go undetected or unaddressed. Establishing an NPM creates an additional layer of protection by ensuring that places of detention and confinement are regularly monitored and that authorities are promptly alerted to conditions that may place individuals at risk of abuse or rights violations.

The Philippines acceded to OPCAT more than fifteen years ago but has yet to establish the independent preventive mechanism required under the treaty. This continued delay weakens institutional safeguards against torture and undermines the country’s commitment to accountability, transparency, and the protection of persons deprived of liberty. At its core, an NPM serves as a proactive safeguard against abuse through regular and unannounced visits to places where individuals are deprived of liberty. Rather than responding only after violations occur, it is designed to identify risks, monitor conditions, and recommend corrective measures before harm takes place.

The CHR expresses support for House Bill Nos. 3047, 6662, and 6666, while identifying House Bill Nos. 3047 and 6662 as the preferred measures. These bills more clearly guarantee the NPM’s independence, authorize regular and unannounced visits to all places of detention, and provide sufficient powers to access information, document conditions, and issue recommendations directly to authorities. They are likewise more aligned with OPCAT requirements on functional autonomy, adequate resources, and unrestricted access to detention facilities.

To further strengthen the proposed measures, the Commission recommends expressly including “confinement” within the definitions of deprivation of liberty and places of deprivation of liberty. This would ensure that the NPM’s mandate covers not only jails and detention facilities but also psychiatric institutions, care homes, drug rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and other public or private facilities where individuals may be confined for medical, therapeutic, or rehabilitative purposes.

The CHR likewise recommends requiring the consent of the complaining person deprived of liberty, or their representative, before cases discovered during NPM visits are referred for administrative or criminal investigation. This safeguard respects the autonomy of victims and helps protect them from possible reprisals.

Establishing an independent NPM is both a treaty obligation and a critical reform that strengthens safeguards against torture. By working alongside existing oversight mechanisms, the NPM can help improve conditions in detention and confinement facilities and contribute to the long-term prevention and eventual elimination of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in the Philippines.

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Position Paper on the Bills Filed in the 20th Congress of the House of Representatives on Establishing the National Preventive Mechanism in Compliance with the OPCAT: https://bit.ly/passNPMlaw

CHR Launches “Bantay Bilangguan” Campaign to Prevent Torture and Uphold Human Dignity Behind Bars: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18tzff2CD1/