bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

Philippine police relieved a station chief and his staff on Friday after human rights representatives discovered a secret jail cell inside the Manila station where a dozen detainees complained they were being held for extortion.
Human Rights Watch said the finding was the latest abuse linked to President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on illegal drugs, which has left thousands dead since last year.
How Philippine police coordinated extrajudicial killings of drug offenders
The commission’s representatives on Thursday led reporters to the dark, cramped passage that was hidden behind a bookshelf at the Raxabago station in Manila’s impoverished Tondo district.
Cries of “here we are, here we are” were heard from behind a wall, according to the rights workers and journalists. The rights workers then found a hidden door behind a bookshelf, leading to the cell.

The men and women held inside told reporters their families had not been told where they were. They said they were tortured by police who demanded bribes of between US$800-US$4,000 for their freedom, Human Rights Watch said.
Stunned detainees came stumbling out of the room, some begging for water while others, in tears, pleaded with the rights workers not to abandon them.
Why so many young liberal Filipinos support Duterte’s drug war
The detainees said that inadequate lighting, ventilation, and toilet facilities forced them “to urinate and [do] bowel movements in plastic bags”, according to Commission on Human Rights Director of National Capital Region Gilbert Boisner, who led the discovery.
“They were picked up on the pretext of drugs but they had not filed any charges against them,” Boisner said.

The station’s commander Superintendent Robert Domingo denied allegations of torture and extortion and said the cell was used because the main lock-up facility was overcrowded with drug suspects.
Domingo and the station’s drug enforcement unit were relieved on Friday by the Metro Manila police director Oscar Albayalde. He told ABS-CBN television that their removal will pave the way for an impartial investigation.
Children paying grim price for Duterte’s war on drugs
“He [Domingo] will undergo an administrative case. If evidence warrants, a criminal case will also be filed against him and the persons involved,” national police spokesman Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said in a statement.
The detainees were transferred to the station’s drug unit facility and police said they were still facing drug charges.
Boisner said there had been no record of the detainees’ arrests and inquest proceedings.
Additional reporting by Agence Presse-France


Philippines’ Marcos Jnr faces inner circle discord over Sara Duterte’s impeachment calls

Manila and Beijing can still choose cooperation over conflict

Meet the poor Filipinos living in Manila’s cemetery for the rich

In the Marcos vs Duterte ‘death match’ of 2025, which Philippine dynasty will survive?

Rodrigo Duterte

‘Here we are, here we are’: Dozens of detainees found stuffed inside secret Philippine jail linked to drug war

This photo taken April 27, 2017 shows people allegedly kept inside a hidden room at the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Manila Police Department's Police Station 1 in the Tondo area of Manila. Human rights workers found a dozen people on April 27 stuffed inside a dark, closet-sized jail cell hidden behind a book shelf in a Philippine police station. The rights officials, acting on a tip, made the surprise inspection on the police station and were calling out for any detainees to come forward. / AFP PHOTO / Vincent GO

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Human Rights Watch said the finding was the latest abuse linked to President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on illegal drugs, which has left thousands dead since last yea
