Tulfo to CHR: Help abused PDLs get justice

Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to identify and help “wrongfully imprisoned” indigent persons who were abused by state authorities, in order to help them attain freedom and justice. 

Tulfo made this call during the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the CHR’s 2025 budget, where he disclosed that many poor people have been left to rot in jail due to false accusations made by police authorities. 

He also lamented the incapability of these prisoners to post bail, despite their innocence, due to financial constraints.

Tulfo noted that these persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were also subjected to abuse and bullying by prison officers.

“They are trapped in their situation because the lawyers assisting them from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) are overwhelmed by the sheer number of clients,” he said. 

“As a result, their court hearings are frequently postponed, causing further delays in the legal process,” he added. 

During the hearing, Tulfo asked the CHR how many innocent PDLs they had helped secure freedom and justice from abusive state authorities. However, CHR failed to provide data in response to Tulfo’s query. 

Hence, the senator urged CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc to lead an investigation into the cases of PDLs wrongly accused by authorities and to coordinate with lawyers from the PAO to ensure they receive “swift justice.”

Tulfo also ordered Palpal-latoc to monitor and investigate cases of PDLs with questionable deaths.

The senator cited instances where cops allowed PDLs to hurt fellow inmates to death but reported otherwise. 

Tulfo urged the CHR to finalize a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and Local Government “to require detention and prison cells all over the country to submit a report on PDLs who died under police custody for CHR to investigate,” to which Palpal-latoc agreed.