MANILA – House Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay said she is batting for new legislation that would require police units to put all female suspects in the custody of the women’s desk in every station across the country.
“What are pushing for a system wherein if you are a woman, and you get apprehended or you are brought to the police station for any reason, the arresting officers will be duty-bound, under pain of sanctions, to turn you over to the (station’s) women’s desk for safekeeping. Female suspects and (police station) detainees should be ‘untouchable’ by male officers,” she said.
The National Bureau of Investigation previously filed criminal charges against a police superintendent accused of raping a 29-year-old nightclub employee at the Eastern Police District headquarters in Taguig City.
The alleged rape victim was among the 65 female workers of the Universe Entertainment and KTV Bar who were brought in for questioning following a police raid on the Pasay City club.
Earlier this month, a 25-year-old female detainee at the Santa Teresita municipal police station in Batangas province also accused an officer of raping her.
The victim was arrested with her boyfriend three months ago for stealing cable wires. The case had been settled and the victim was just waiting for a court order for her release, when she was taken out of her cell and assaulted in a police van by the officer.
Binay said the police has enough female officers to look after suspects of the same gender. Citing statistics from Camp Crame’s Personnel Accounting Information System, she said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has 21,024 female and 127,800 male officers, as of October 2014.
Even so, Binay wants women to eventually comprise at least 25 percent of all PNP members, up from 14 percent. The PNP Reform Law of 1998 mandates Camp Crame “to reserve 10 percent of its annual recruitment, training and education quota for women.”
As proposed by Binay, the women’s desk in will assume the added responsibility of looking after female suspects and detainees. “Right now, women’s desks do not attend to female suspects. Their function is limited to handling women and children filing complaints of rape, sexual harassment, domestic abuse and the like,” Binay said.
Created by law to improve the PNP’s gender-sensitivity, the women’s desk prevents the embarrassment and eases the distress of female victims and children having to recount their sexual ordeal before male officers.
“Giving the desk direct supervision of female suspects will further boost the PNP’s gender-sensitivity,” Binay said. “Apart from this, we really have to open up the opportunities for more women to gain employment and advance as officers.”
As proposed by Binay, no female suspect or detainee may be tampered with, moved or transferred, except with prior clearance from the officer in charge of the women’s desk. The rule shall operate even if the male officer seeking custody of the female suspect or detainee is superior to the OIC of the women’s desk.
Interrogations of female suspects or detainees may be performed only by a female officer, or in the presence of a female officer, unless the questioning is fully videotaped by the station. Violators of the rule shall face summary dismissal proceedings. (Mindanao Examiner)
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com and http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net
20