Leuterio said his cell was just beside the door. Beside his cell was that of the Calilap couple while the cell next to the couples was that of Mendiola. The fourth cell was where two other detainees, Raymond Manalo, 22, and his brother Reynaldo, 32, were held. The two were charcoal gatherers who were abducted Feb. 14, 2006 allegedly by soldiers of the 24th Infantry Battalion led by M/Sgt Rollie Castillo in Barangay Bohol na Mangga, San Ildefonso, Bulacan.
The detainees were only able to talk at midnight when their jailguards were asleep, Leuterio said. Kahit hindi kami nagkikita-kita, nagkakamustahan kami, nagkukwentuhan, nagtatanungan kung saan galing ang isat-isa (Even if we could not see each other, we would talk, exchange experiences, and ask where each came from), he said.
Inside their cells, they were again repeatedly subjected to beatings and inhumane treatment by the soldiers, Leuterio said.
After about two months, he saw jailguards take Mendiola out of his cell. He thought he was already being released. To this day, however, Mendiola remains missing, according to Karapatan.
A certain Bernardo Javier, a young detainee also from San Miguel town, was hauled inside Mendiolas former cell. After some time, Leuterio said, Javier strangled himself with the strings of his pants. Hindi na siguro nya nakayanan yung pagpapahirap sa kanya, Leuterio said of Javier, Lagi kasi syang pinagkakatuwaan ng mga bantay pag lasing sila. (Maybe he could not bear the torture inflicted on him anymore. The guards pestered him whenever they were drunk.)
Before he took his life, Javier told Leuterio that the guards lighted a wooden stick and burned his penis with it.
Leuterio also said Teresita Calilap developed psychological problems while incarcerated. The Calilap couple was released Aug. 29, 2006.
Two young women were also brought inside the camp, Leuterio said. One of them, he said, resembled Sherlyn Cadapan, one of the two UP students abducted reportedly by soldiers in Bulacan on June 26, 2006. While seated inside his cell, he said he peeped through the door and saw the two women being herded to the terrace where the jailguards were having some fun and booze. Meanwhile, Leuterio said, he also heard a man, whom the jailguards called by the name MM, being beaten outside the safehouse.
After some time, Leuterio said, the two young women were taken out of the safehouse. He had not heard of them as well as MM since.
Leuterio was released on Sept. 14, 2006. Before his release, Leuterio said, he was treated to remove the signs of torture. For one month, he said, Pinainum ako ng amoxicillin tsaka mefenamic acid (They made me drink amoxicillin [antibiotic] and mefanamic acid [painkiller]), Leuterio said. His wounds and bruises were treated with Betadine (povidone iodine).
During his exit interview, Leuterio said, a military officer whom the jailguards called Lolo (grandfather) warned him not to tell anyone that Mendiola was with him in prison.
