MANILA, Philippines— The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that it is the duty of the State to provide clean, safe, and properly equipped detention facilities for individuals who are arrested.

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr., the SC’s Second Division upheld the Ombudsman’s dismissal of a complaint filed by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) against police officers in Tondo, Manila. The CHR had accused the officers of operating a “secret detention cell” inside Raxabago Police Station 1.

The CHR said it discovered three men and nine women cramped in a small, dirty room hidden behind a wooden shelf. It submitted video footage of the room and claimed it was a secret cell.

Police responded that the station was overcrowded, with 96 detainees in a facility built for only 50. They said the small room was used as a temporary holding area while detainees awaited investigation and denied it was a secret cell, noting it was visible and had its own entrances.

The Ombudsman dismissed the complaint, stating that the video footage was unclear and showed only a dark room with a urinal. It also recognized that overcrowding in jails is a real issue.

The SC agreed with the Ombudsman, ruling there was no evidence of a secret detention cell or violation of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9745). It also found no bad faith on the part of the police, noting there were no other available spaces to hold the detainees.

However, the SC stressed that poor jail conditions must still be addressed. While acknowledging the budget limitations faced by the police, the Court emphasized that detainees have basic rights under the law, including the right to decent living conditions while in custody.

“It does not escape the Court that the improvement of penal facilities may be restricted by a budget which only the Congress can provide and which the Court cannot compel to allocate. This budgetary constraint, however, does not mean that the inmates or detainees in prison or jail are not entitled to their right to live a decent life when in penal facilities,” the Court said.

The SC warned that if government agencies continue to fail in addressing jail conditions, the Court will step in to protect the rights of detainees when properly asked to do so. It also reminded the police that even temporary holding areas must be clean, sanitary, and properly maintained.

In his Dissenting Opinion, Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen said the CHR’s visit revealed the actual conditions of a secret detention cell and that the poor conditions may amount to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.