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On the
Occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the Seminar on Human Rights for Civil Disturbance Management Personnel of NCRPO
Camp Karingal, Quezon City, Philippines, 23 July 2008
delivered by
LEILA M. DE LIMA
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
Good morning.
On the last occasion that I had addressed the men and women of the Philippine National Police, I had made a promise. I swore to fearlessly and fully exercise the CHR’s mandate to oversee government compliance with human rights standards. More importantly, however, I promised the full support of the Fourth Commission to the commitment of Gen. Razon to transform the PNP into a UN-certified fortress of human rights protection.
At the end of the day, after all the salutes, the applause, handshakes and exchanges of congratulations, I felt that the message of solidarity between the CHR and the PNP on the penultimate goal of securing and safeguarding human rights for every Filipino was clear and unmistakable. Our roles are, after all, complementary and thus we must work together and help each other fulfill our mandates as protectors of the people.
Hours after the celebration of the founding anniversary of your Human Rights Affairs Office, there were media outlets that were of the opinion that the message of solidarity between the CHR and the PNP, the complementary roles and the shared aspirations in the realm of human rights were not as newsworthy as the message that our nation has not forgotten the abuses of the police, exemplified by the Kuratong Baleleng case, the Ortigas and the alleged Tanauan rubout. It was not newsworthy that the campaign of the PNP to revise its operational and training procedures to conform to human rights standards is being implemented. It is not newsworthy that the CHR fully supports the reforms that the leadership of the PNP intends to bring to the force.
To my fellow public servants, do not be disheartened. It is precisely that the Filipino people and media are free to speak of the government, para purihin o kastiguhin ang gobyerno , to laud it or castigate it, to celebrate it or criticize it, that we know that the democracy and freedom that we protect is alive and vibrant. For this reason, we must welcome the opinions of critics of government. We must welcome those that call the CHR a “toothless tiger”, and the PNP the “worst human rights violator”. We must welcome the criticism because this is our democracy beckoning us and the government should not even be perceived to be toothless nor suspected of being the worst human rights violators.
It is for this reason that we commend the response of PNP Director General Avelino Razon and National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Geary Barias to media reports that the CHR “chided” the PNP for being the worst violators of human rights. General Razon said, and I quote, “[The CHR is] not our enemy but our partner in human rights. The President herself said that human rights should be the legacy I should leave behind here in the PNP”. NCR Chief Director Barias, for his part, said, “We have a series of seminars as part of the recruitment where we pound [human rights] into the recruits.” The reassuring and tempered response of your leadership is an example to all men and women in uniform. This is how, as public servants, we must face our critics.
It is in light of these criticisms, too, that we are here today, to answer the challenge once again to be champions of human rights. With the forthcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA), and the looming deluge of protesters and government critics, the PNP leadership has gathered all of us here to ensure that you are battle-ready, not merely to disperse violent protests, but more importantly, to secure order and safety and protect the rights of every Filipino that wishes to freely express his or her opinion at the SONA. July 28 will be a battle, indeed, to protect human rights and free speech.
Our Constitution, which is a human rights instrument, has ensured to every citizen their right to exercise their freedom of speech and expression and to peaceably assemble. Decisional law has decreed that its exercise could not be subjected to prior restraint.
Just as the freedom of the media is an expression of a living, breathing democracy, the freedom and ability of the people to assemble and express their sentiments in the presence of the President no less is equal proof that we have a working democracy. Their voices are of vital importance, and therefore the main police objective of maintaining peace and order must be for “the purpose of securing respect for the rights and freedoms” of those people. The “paramount objectives to be remembered in developing crowd control strategies are the maintenance of order and safety, and the protection of human rights...” The message cannot be underscored enough: Your duty is to protect the safety of the persons whose voices must be heard. You, the honorable men and women of the PNP, will be deployed to ensure that those who assemble in the name of our hallowed democracy may speak their minds; that they may be heard.
In the presence of infiltrators, agitators or others with a violent purpose, your duty will become even more difficult. They will taunt you, desecrate the name of your mothers and call you by degrading names. Sisindi sila ng itim na kandila para sa inyo. You must “deal with a crowd as a group of independently thinking individuals, not as a single-minded mass” . Only against those individuals who choose to employ threatening behavior must you use reasonable force, with the purpose of protecting the rest who peaceably assemble. The use of force must be applied in a manner that is “proportionate to the lawful law enforcement objective” and “every effort [must] be made to limit damage and injury” . And should anyone be traumatized or injured, they “[must] be immediately cared for” .
The response of the PNP leadership to newspaper reports that the CHR rebuked the police force as “the worst human rights violators” is, ironically, to invite the CHR, again, as partners in this Human Rights Briefing for the PNP. And I am very pleased to appear before yet another assembly of policemen and women. This is nothing short of an affirmation on the part of the PNP to its commitment to being protectors of human rights.
On July 28, we will be there watching you, as is our solemn Constitutional mandate. But in the same breath, I assure you, the men and women of the PNP, that we, in the CHR, are with you as well. While we cannot teach you police tactics and practical use of weapons and crowd-control measures, we can impart to you our knowledge and skills in human rights advocacy, hopefully to develop and instill in you the keen discernment needed in the promotion and protection of human rights.
The CHR will be providing you later, during the seminar proper, with brief lectures on the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (CoCoLEO), Article 2 of which is a summation of our purpose here today, and I quote: “In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold human rights of all persons.” In addition, the Basic Principles on the Use of Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the Public Assembly Act and pertinent CHR advisories will be discussed by the CHR-NCR Director, Atty. Gilbert Boiser and Atty. Carmen Rosete. Together with the rest of the lecturers, we hope to arm all of you with the critical knowledge of principles and practices that you will need.
As your co-servant in government, may I remind you that in order to truly succeed in your commitment to transform the PNP into a fortress of human rights protection, you must weather all the naysayers and the critics of the PNP. You must prove with unrelenting commitment that the negative labels associated with the police may someday soon be, not only grossly inaccurate, but obsolete and downright wrong. Commit to being a police force that is a bastion of human rights. Swear by it right now. Tagapagtanggol ako ng karapatang pantao. Swear by it and I swear to you the unending support of the Fourth Commission. Swear by it and I swear to you, as free as the critics may be to chastise the police, they will be mistaken. Nothing negates criticism like positive action. Today, I congratulate General Razon and all of you for this most proactive and positive step. It is but one step, but it is a very important one. So much more must be done, not only to protect what freedoms that we already enjoy, but also to nurture and encourage a more reverberant democracy. The SONA is but one of many tests for the PNP. Many more will come and I truly wish you the best.
When looking down that long and arduous road in striving to not only polish the reputation of the PNP, but to galvanize its aspired standing as a human rights-based, if not a human rights-driven police force, take respite in the thought that despite the deluge of reports of human rights abuses, our democracy and people refuse to succumb in silence and fear. The PNP under General Razon's leadership is not alone in this quest to protect and promote human rights. Vast sectors in government and civil society are all working to put an end to this menace of human rights abuses. This is our democracy at work. And it is in the vitality of our freedom and democracy, despite the injury inflicted on it time and time again, that we ourselves must be strengthened and inspired to protect it from anything that endangers it.
Para sa buong kapulisan na ipapadala sa SONA, nawa'y biyayaan kayo ng lakas ng loob, bukas at mapanuring pag-iisip para matupad ang magigiting na hangarin ng PNP at kayo’y maging ganap na tagapagtanggol ng karapatang pantao.
Human Rights Advisory On the Violent Dispersal of Rallyists During the 24 July 2000 SONA (CHR-A9-2000).
UDHR, article 29(2); ICCPR, article 4.
Human Rights and Law Enforcement, Trainer's Manual No. 5/Add. 2, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights