Three police officers and six policemen were charged on Monday before the Department of Justice (DoJ) with violation of Republic Act (RA) 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 in connection with a video which captured a police officer torturing a suspected robbery-holdup suspect inside a police precinct in Tondo, Manila. The Philippine National Police (PNP) represented by Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla, chief of Task Force Asuncion, filed charges of violation of the Anti-Torture Act against Senior Insp. Joselito Binayug, who was reportedly caught on the video allegedly torturing the suspect. Aside from Binayug, the PNP also charged Senior Sup. Rogelio Rosales, commander of the Manila Police District-Station 11, and Senior Supt. Ernesto Tendero, commander of the MPD – Station 2. Also charged were Senior Police Officer 3 (SPO3) Joaquin De Guzman, SPO1 Burt Tupas, SPO1 Dante Bautista, SPO1 Rodolfo Ong, PO1 Rex Binayug, and PO1 Nonito Binayug. The National Capital Police Region Office (NCRPO) said that it has filed criminal charges against the Tondo, Manila-based policemen that carried out and even recorded on video the cruel torture of an alleged robber, which has since become an Internet sensation. Chief Supt. Leocadio Santiago, NCRPO director, said that violations of RA 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 have been filed against the Asuncion (Tondo) Police Community Precinct (PCP) commander and his subordinates that reportedly took part in the “torture video.” Santiago bared that members of the particular PCP, including Binayug, are implicated in the crime. The cops are under custody at Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City where the NCRPO holds its headquarters. “We've separated them from each other during the course of the investigations,” he told reporters. However, Ronganillo clarified that Rosales was charged due to command responsibility while Tendero was also included in the charge sheet as he was the immediate supervisor of Binayug. The Task Force Asuncion identified the alleged torture victim as Darius Evangelista. He was positively identified by his wife, Ana. Ana said she last seen her husband alive last March. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it appears that the person who was found lying in an undisclosed place and the tortured victim captured on the video was the one and the same person.
