Furthermore, State officials should publicly announce a policy of total elimination in respect of acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and support prosecution of the perpetrators of such acts. Definition of torture (10) The Committee notes the State party’s statement to the Committee that the Revised Penal Code guarantees that all acts of torture are classified as criminal offences with corresponding penalties under Philippine laws as well as the explanation provided by the delegation in this respect. However, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not incorporated into national law the crime of torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention. While noting information provided as to the recent passage of the Anti-Torture Bill in the House of Representatives, the Committee is concerned at the delay in legislating on this matter (arts. 1 and 4). The State party should incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture and adopt a definition of torture that covers all of the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture, inter alia, by alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims, and the public, to the special gravity of the crime of torture and by improving the deterrent effect of the prohibition itself. The Committee therefore urges the State party to enact the Anti-Torture Bill as soon as possible. Human rights defenders and other individuals at risk (11) The Committee notes with concern the numerous documented reports of harassment and violence against human rights defenders that hamper the capacity of civil society monitoring groups to function effectively. The Committee is also concerned at reports that others are also commonly victims of serious human rights violations, including torture, ill-treatment, killings, disappearances and harassment. Among those so affected are indigenous rights defenders, such as Lumads of Mindanao and Igorots of the Cordillera, trade union and peasant activists, journalists and reporters, medical personnel, and religious leaders (arts. 2, 12 and 16). The State party should take all necessary steps to ensure that all persons, including those monitoring human rights, are protected from any intimidation or violence as a result of their activities and exercise of human rights guarantees, to ensure the prompt, impartial and effective investigation of such acts, and to prosecute and punish perpetrators with penalties appropriate to the nature of those acts. Recalling the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (CAT/C/GC/2, para. 21), the State party should ensure the protection of members of groups especially at risk of ill-treatment, including by prosecuting and punishing all acts of violence and abuses against such individuals and ensuring implementation of positive measures of prevention and protection. De facto practice of detention of suspects (12) The Committee is deeply concerned about the de facto practice of detention of suspects by the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in detention centres, safe houses and military camps. Although authorities are required to file charges within 12 to 36 hours of arrests made without warrants, depending on the seriousness of the crime, lengthy pretrial detention remains a problem, due to the slow judicial process. The use of arrests without warrants is reportedly extensive, and criminal suspects are at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Arrests without a warrant and the lack of judicial oversight on the legality of detention can facilitate torture and ill-treatment (arts. 2 and 11). The State party should take all necessary measures to address the de facto practice of detention of suspects by the PNP and the AFP, especially lengthy pretrial detention and arrests without warrants. In this respect, the State party should take all appropriate measures to further reduce the duration of 117