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Quezon City , Philippines
1st of September 2008
delivered by
LEILA M. DE LIMA
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
The Fourth Commission had officially commenced on 7 May 2008 with my appointment as Chairperson and Cecilia Rachel V. Quisumbing, as Commissioner. On 19 May 2008 , I assumed office to ensure the continuity of leadership in the Commission. To date, the appointments of Atty. Ma. Victoria V. Cardona on 5 June 2008 and Atty. Norberto Dela Cruz on 25 July 2008 nearly completes the Commission En Banc. We are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the last appointee to complete our five-member National Human Rights Institution.
Even if the leadership of the Commission remains less than complete after 100 days of existence, the challenges to human rights protection and promotion are interminable and persistently beg the response of the Commission. To these challenges, we have decisively responded. In behalf of the entire Commission on Human Rights, I am pleased to present to you the accomplishments and achievements over the first 100 days of the Fourth Commission.
In line with the broad Constitutional mandate to protect human rights of all persons within the Philippines , the Commission has continued to maximize its functions and powers, particularly its investigative and monitoring functions and visitorial powers.
The Commission has duly investigated the alleged rubout of RCBC massacre suspects in Tanauan, Batangas. Our own team of investigators had carried out an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the killing of individuals tagged as suspects. In an En Banc Resolution dated 24 July 2008 , the Commission found that there is no basis in the claim of the PNP that there was a shootout to justify use of deadly force by the raiding teams.
Broadly, incidences of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances have dramatically decreased since the final year of the Third Commission. The downward trend continues into 2008, attributable to international and internal pressures, heightened awareness in the public consciousness, and strengthened resolve of the government to combat these crimes. Yet the objective of the Commission to solve every single case remains, and every effort to carry out the same continues to this day.
Last July, the Commission, though its NCR office, had issued a Resolution in the high-profile Tagaytay 5 case, and found irregularities surrounding the victims' arrest and detention. As of Friday, August 29, 2008 , broadsheets had reported that the suspects had been released and the complaint against them had been junked. Several other cases, both new and those carried over from the Third Commission, covering a wide range of human rights violations, remain under the close scrutiny of this Commission.
In order to respond to our investigative mandate in a timely and expedited manner, this Commission has created a policy of dispatching Quick Reaction Teams (QRT). We have responded through our QRTs to various incidences of human rights violations, including complaints of alleged abduction and maltreatment at the hands of security elements as in the Gumanoy sisters' case and illegal demolitions, as in the Quinta and Balintawak Market cases. The QRTs deliver immediate information that allows the Commission to proceed in a guided and decisive manner in resolving complaints of human rights violations.
Further along the process of investigations, the Fourth Commission has internally instructed all investigation units to exercise the contempt powers of the Commission. This is intended to insure that no investigations will be impeded by the failure of respondents to appear before the Commission, thereby expediting proceedings and the issuance of resolutions.
The Commission has made good on its promise to exercise its visitorial powers in inspecting detention facilities. Surprise visits to Camp Vicente Lim, ISAFP and PACER were conducted on June 6, June 25 and August 12, respectively. Several more are planned and both the military and police have been forewarned of violating the rights of the detained.
There are several human rights protection issues that have elicited close scrutiny and action from the Fourth Commission. In response to a barrage of complaints of alleged illegal demolitions, the Commission sent two QRTs to verify the latest reported incidents. The result of our initial investigation had led to the issuance of an advisory on demolitions on 6 June 2008 , calling for the reassessment of the entire demolition and eviction procedures as implemented by the MMDA and the LGUs. Two forums later between the government and urban poor groups have led to the draft of a manifesto on demolitions (to be launched on 2 September 2008 ) and additional recommendations for Senator Benigno Aquino III on his sponsored bill aiming to amend the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA).
Another charged issue to which the Fourth Commission has responded to is the conduct of tactical military offensives and the human costs of the same. Even before the breakdown of negotiations over the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain that creates the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, the Commission had already issued an advisory on Military operations, calling for the minimization of civilian casualties and displacements. On 17 July 2008, the Commission presented a report to the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agenda #9, or the peace process, indicating that the characterization of civilians as covert members of secessionist armed groups renders any incident involving the military and these civilians as an armed encounter, and thus a peace process concern, that must adhere to customary international humanitarian law.
The outbreak of armed conflict in Lanao and Saranggani between the military and the MILF had become a major concern for the Commission, especially since hundreds of thousands of civilians were adversely affected. A Commission Special Mission headed by Commissioner Cardona was sent to North Cotabato to determine the extent of displacement and the conditions surrounding the evacuation of civilians from the war front. The results of the investigation has compelled the Commission, through a press statement on 21 August 2008, to once again call out to, not only the Military, but the National Government and Local Government Units to pursue disaster preparations with as much fervor as they pursue the rouge MILF armies. This was preceded by the Commission's advisory on the Memorandum on Agreement on Ancestral Domain questioning the process or the approach by which it was negotiated, decided and reached, and stressing the need for genuine consultation of the indigenous communities and stakeholders.
Still in the realm of State security forces, the Commission is very pleased to report that the Philippine National Police has been collaborating very closely with the Commission to ensure the success of the PNP Director General's vision to transform the PNP into what he calls a “UN-certified fortress of human rights protection”. This comes as a welcome development despite the Commission's continued monitoring of the alleged rubout incident in Tanauan, Batangas. The CHR-PNP partnership has been particularly proactive and instrumental in ensuring peaceful management of rallies leading up to the State of the Nation Address.
We are ready to issue today the Commission's Resolution on the National Press Club (NPC) complaint related to the Manila Penn Siege. The Commission had found that there had been no basis to justify detaining and the processing of members of media in Camp Bagong Diwa. In other words, there were violations of the human rights to liberty, security of persons and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention of the media persons involved in the incident.
The Fourth Commission has been extremely active on the fronts of promoting human rights. The Commission has time and again reiterated its stand against the revival of the death penalty, through our 21 May 2008 press statement on the Affirmation of the Right to Life (in relation to the 2 nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR) and 11 August 2008 position paper on House Bill No. 566, which seeks to revive the death penalty in relation to crimes qualified as salvaging or extrajudicial killing.
In addition, the Commission has staunchly pushed for the ratification of the OPCAT, to which, as of July 2008, the Philippines has not acceded. Last August 28, Commissioner Quisumbing delivered before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations the Commission's Statement advocating for the ratification of the ASEAN Charter.
This development buoys our hopes that our efforts to encourage the ratification of other international instruments will be fruitful. The Rome Statute and the Convention on the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance are instruments we hope will bring better protection against crimes of impunity.
To better equip stakeholders in the field of human rights advocacy, the Commission has sponsored several capacity building workshops. Together with the Barnombudsmannen, otherwise known as the Swedish Ombudsman for Children, we have conducted seminars on the Child Rights, Perspective and Participation in Davao and Cebu .
Through our Government Linkages Office, we gathered participants from a multitude of congressional committees in a seminar-workshop on Rights-Based Approach to Legislation, with the calculated objective of institutionalizing considerations of the impact on human rights as an integral part of the legislative process.
In August, the Commission re-launched the Barangay Human Rights Action Center program in Metro Naga. Additionally, we conducted a capacity building seminar for our partner communities in Metro Davao and Compostela Valley as part of our revitalization of the program. The BHRAC remains a flagship project of the Commission, representing the most ambitious goals of bringing human rights awareness and advocacy into every home and community throughout the country.
In the carrying out of the Commission's mandate of promoting human rights, the Fourth Commission has re-affirmed strategic partnerships with key governmental agencies. The DILG remains extremely supportive of the BHRAC program. Several municipal level officers of the DILG took part in the BHRAC revitalization seminar.
The Department of Education is a key partner in the Human Rights Education program for teaching exemplars. In line with our goal of penetrating the field of education to promote human rights advocacy, the Fourth Commission has initiated exploratory talks with various law schools with the aim of arriving at a MOA between the Commission and their legal aid programs, in order to inculcate human rights into our future lawyers.
Legislative cooperation remains strong through the collaboration of our technical working groups in the refinement of various House and Senate bills, including those on extralegal killings, enforced disappearances and torture, to name a few.
So far the Fourth Commission has submitted five position papers to both houses of Congress. First, in the Position Paper on House Bill Nos. 3370 and 3867, which proposed the lowering of the minimum age of criminal liability, the Commission submitted that the planned amendment is not in the best interests of the child because it would be punitive, and contrary to the principle of restorative justice. In two separate Position Papers, the Commission expressed its strong support for the immediate passage of the Law Against Enforced Disappearances, and the signing and ratification of the Convention Against Enforced Disappearances. Similarly, we conveyed our staunch endorsement of the passage of a law ensuring stronger protection and security of whistleblowers, and of a legislation addressing the issue of torture.
Finally, the Supreme Court, through the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA), co-sponsors continuing seminars on extralegal killings and enforced disappearances with the Commission. Under the Fourth Commission, members of the judiciary, prosecutorial service, police and armed forces and human rights advocacy groups from various regions including the Bicol Region, Cebu and Bohol have received training under the PHILJA-CHR seminar.
Several NGOs separately held dialogues with the Chairperson on pressing human rights issues and concerns. The Commission appreciates their views and suggestions as additional guideposts in fulfilling its mandate.
Similarly, aware that sensational issues tend to overshadow other equally important yet less publicized concerns, particularly those affecting the marginalized sectors of society, the Commission has taken up the cudgels in behalf of these often-neglected segments. So far, the Commission, through the Chairperson, has had the opportunity to address the plights of children, women, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples, among others.
In the sphere of international cooperation, the Fourth Commission participated in various fora to strengthen its role as a National Human Rights Institution. First , CHRP presented its General Comments on the Philippines ' Human Rights Situation before the Eight Session of the Human Rights Council when the Philippine Government underwent the process of the Universal Periodic Review. Second , CHRP attended the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum, a human rights organization in the Asia-Pacific Region wherein the CHRP is a founding member.
The Fourth Commission is also involved in the protection and promotion of the rights of the Indigenous People through the assistance of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. The CHRP selected three pilot IP communities, namely: the Kankana-ey of Kibungan, Benguet, Higaonon of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, and Sama Dilaut or the Badjao of Zamboanga. The objective of the entire programme is to strengthen the understanding and respect for, and practical experience of human rights in these three indigenous communities. We launched this joint project last July 10.
In 2007, the CHRP was the chosen Implementing Partner of the Democratic Governance Portfolio of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This continued partnership is focused on three components: (1) the strengthening of the Commission particularly the revitalization of the BHRAC programme; (2) the capacity building of human rights institutions within the Executive Branch; (3) the empowering of disadvantaged women.
The first 100 days, no, the first two weeks, came as a shock to me, an avalanche of explosive new issues detonated in the media on top of old cases carried over from the Third Commission. Over the course of the first 100 days, with the gradual and successive appointments of the remaining members of the Commission En Banc, and the continued support from our expert directorship, the central and regional offices, the task has become more manageable.
There are many from outside the Commission who have extended support and encouragement for this newly-minted Fourth Commission. Our partners in government, the local communities, the NGOs, the media and the academe have all contributed greatly to the sprint to the hundred-day mark. To every one of our partners, I convey our sincerest appreciation.
However, to place things in perspective, the first 100 days represents less than four percent of the entire lifetime of the Fourth Commission. If the accomplished tasks seem plentiful, begging for applause, these represent only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So much more has to be done for the remaining 96% of the term. The accomplishments pale in comparison to the journey ahead of us; the vindicated are too few to count next to the missing, murdered, displaced, discriminated, silenced and ignored. The sobering reality is that the challenges facing the Commission are not merely in endless supply, but they are challenges that will outlive this Fourth Commission. After all, the task of guarding the rights of our people is itself a never-ending task and it requires our constant vigilance. Thus, we ask for the support of all sectors, and for your prayers that the Commission may continue to carry out its mandate, faithful to our Constitution and to our people.