MANILA – The Philippine National Police is translating the Miranda rights, one’s right to remain silent and to have a lawyer, among other things, into four different languages.
To help foreigners understand their rights when arrested for certain violations, the PNP took the initiative to translate it into Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean.
“The translation is in compliance with the international human rights law to ensure individual in conflict with the law will be able to understand his right as provided for under the Miranda Rights,” Sr. Supt. Dennis Siervo, officer-in-charge of the PNP’s Human Rights Affairs Office (HRAO) said.
“The Korean translation is already completed, the Chinese version is nearing completion and the next are the Japanese and Taiwanese translations,” Siervo said.
He also added that “there were cases in the past when the charges filed against some suspects were dismissed due to failure of the police to inform the person of basic rights.”
While most of the policemen do not understand any of the four languages, according to Servio, the translations will be recorded and downloaded in their cellular phones.
Servio added that they could play or show the translations to foreign violators during the arrest.
“Our policemen could download them through their smartphones and show or play them to the foreigners during their arrest,” he said.