MANILA, Philippines — Experts from the United Nations stressed Thursday the need to establish a national body dedicated to preventing torture as they wrapped up their visit to the Philippines. Victor Zaharia, who heads the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT), said the Philippines should fast-track the adoption of bills that will create a national monitoring body called National Preventive Mechanism. “This national mechanism, with adequate resources, will be a key partner in preventing torture and ill-treatment in the Philippines,” he added. At the end of the visit, the SPT delegation presented its confidential preliminary observations to the government. It has documented 488 victims of torture since July 2010 despite the passage of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009.
