CEBU Governor Hilario Davide III denied that he ordered law enforcers to strip naked the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) inmates during a raid on February 28.
Photos of the prisoners sitting naked while the raid was conducted have caused uproar, with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)-Central Visayas planning to investigate the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Central Visayas agents for releasing the pictures.
Leo Villarino, CHR-Central Visayas chief investigator, told SunStar Cebu that exposing the photos of the naked inmates in public violated their human rights.
But Davide, according to a statement from the Provincial Information Office, only asked the assistance of the PDEA "to enforce the search of illegal drugs being smuggled inside the facility."
Jason Monteclar, provincial information officer, said in a statement posted on the Cebu Provincial Government's Facebook page that Davide will not tolerate any attempts to violate the human rights of the prisoners.
"In fact, programs that promote the dignity of the inmates were given wide unconditional support from the Capitol," the statement read.
It was PDEA-Central Visayas Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz who took “full responsibility for ordering the inmates to strip.”
Ruiz said Friday that the stripping was for “the mutual safety of the raiders and the prisoners.”
Had a clothed detainee with a concealed weapon hurt a member of the raiding team, it could have triggered a riot or a stampede, Ruiz added.
The Cebu Provincial Government agreed, with the Provincial Information Office (PIO) saying it cannot also "go blind or allow shortsightedness to rule and eventually endanger the life of both the jailers and the prisoners."
"The inmates being stripped naked is clearly under the discretion of PDEA 7 ground operatives and commanders, and the governor relies on their expertise and professionalism when it comes to the enforcement of operation 'greyhound' (jail raid)," said the PIO.
"The governor is concerned over the life and limb of ground personnel in case violence will disrupt during the raid. PDEA-7 raiders are outnumbered as compared to the inmates," the statement added.
PDEA operatives confiscated during the raid Tuesday 19 packs of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), 80 cellphones, including those from suspected drug lord, Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro.
Also seized were drug paraphernalia, including a weighing scale, rolls of tin foils, lighters and a bag of marijuana.
Davide deemed the raid a success, according to the PIO.
"Though shocking things may have happened (the stripping of inmates), but this will not prevent the Cebu Provincial Government from enforcing its strong campaign against illegal drugs," it said. (SunStar Philippines)