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Hotel Vida, Clark Air Base, Pampanga
25 August 2009
by
LEILA M. DE LIMA
Chairperson
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Good morning to all of you.
First of all, let me thank the Alternative Law Groups, particularly the Coordinator of these community-based dialogue sessions, Atty. Marlon Manuel, for inviting me to speak before you and share my thoughts on the subject of this initiative. May I also express my deep appreciation to the Hans Seidel Foundation-Germany for its consistent support for initiatives like this. This series of events, which has brought together representatives from the armed forces, the police, civil society organizations and local communities, is significant, if not a milestone endeavour. The concept of dialogue is an underutilized and overlooked mechanism in formulating effective policy for something as broad and encompassing as human rights.
Often, we see community dialogues or public hearings conducted by local government units or administrative agencies that develop very specific policy for a very specific sector or jurisdiction. It comes in the form of local ordinances, tax legislations, enterprise regulations and other issuances.
But what about matters that are not specific to a particular jurisdiction? What about issues that aren't exclusive to rule-making administrative agencies and local or national legislative bodies? More succinctly, what about matters that pertain to all persons?
The issue of human rights protection and promotion is a curious issue, in that the broadest policy statements can be made by the Chief Executive, the National Legislature and even the Supreme Court, and these statements come with all the pomp and circumstance befitting the highest bodies of government, yet when the time comes for implementation – and implementation in the most minute detail, we find that national policy is not specific enough to contend with all the varying circumstances, on the ground, surrounding human rights protection.
For example, who did Congress consult for all the hearings on the proposed CHR Charter or the anti-torture bill which has passed the bicameral level? Or the Human Security Act? Or the latest human rights enactment – the Magna Carta of Women? Do these laws attend to every imaginable need? Human rights affect everyone, but Congress simply cannot invite everyone.
When pubic hearings end, policy is engraved in letter and law, and when the time for implementation is imminent, it has been increasingly clear that public consultation should continue. It must continue beyond the consultations of our honourable members of Congress with top echelon representatives from the various interest groups and agencies. It must continue without the auspices of the distant national leaders.
In fact, it must continue down the entire chain of command, between those ultimately designated to implement the law with their bare hands, and the very people affected by the law. The consultations have to reach a point of the finest detail, where implementing agencies, such as the police and the military, are not just seen as bodies of state security, but seen as names and faces, as identifiable and recognizable as the person next to you. In the same breath, the “people” in general are not simply seen as an amorphous and shapeless mass like the ones who gathered at President Cory Aquino's funeral. They, too, have to have names and faces.
Look to the person next to you, both on the left and the right. Look at their name tags, then look at their faces. This is how far consultations must go. Who protects and who must be protected must have a name and a face.
Now, to yourselves – speak the names of your children or your spouse or your parents. Say their names. In the end, just as love is embodied by the names and faces of your family, friends and loved ones, human rights must be as personal, free from lofty abstraction, and concrete, tangible and real as the person next to you. This is the way to protect and promote human rights. It is by talking to people, na matanong mo nang personal kung ano ang mga adhikain nila. We cannot promote and protect human rights by being aloof, impersonal and detached, and by talking about abstract ideas and concepts devoid of practicalities and realism. We cannot just be preachers of human rights, but we must be human rights and humanitarian workers as well.
We come from different backgrounds and different institutions. Our experiences differ and so do some of our priorities moving forward. But we are here today because of the recognition that while there are things which set us apart from one another, there are also key areas where we share common interests and common aspirations, such as concern over our local communities and the desire to make our cities, our towns and our neighbourhoods better places to live in, for our families and for our children.
Let me thank the participants in these community-based dialogue sessions on human rights. Whether you hail from the City of Davao, Naga, Iloilo or Baguio, whether you are a member of the military, the police force, a civil society organization or the local community, the success of this project so far has been all up to you, and the success of this initiative going forward continues to remain in your hands.
You are the individuals who breathe life into this endeavour. You are the persons who, through your own individual efforts and choices, through your sincere and honest efforts, are paving the way toward more and better coordination, among groups, which have had a history of suspicion and mistrust. The surest way, after all, to develop suspicion and mistrust, is not to speak to one another. And the surest way to build trust is to be on personal speaking terms.
You are the individuals who are helping to break down these barriers, do away with unhelpful stereotypes, and craft concrete plans of action which will allow your diverse institutions to contribute to much needed community building, together.
The process so far has not been an easy one. The suspicion and mistrust have built up over a long period of time, and continue to be amplified even today. But already we have seen some progress over the course of this project. And that progress so far has come about because of you, the participants. We at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) thank you for your efforts so far, and honor you for your commitment to breaking down barriers, and furthering the cause of human rights in the Philippines .
You are here today as members of different and diverse institutions, and also as members of shared regions, cities and towns. Many of you here are neighbours in a sense, because even if the homes you live in are far apart, you come from the same geographical areas, and you share an extended neighbourhood and a common community. And whether you hail from the City of Davao or Naga, Iloilo or Baguio , as members of those communities, you are exposed to the problems they are facing, and you have become familiar with the challenges faced by your relatives and neighbours.
And many of the problems faced in these communities are directly related to the promotion and protection of human rights. When children are unable to go to school, and end up on the streets or worse, there is a failure to respect the human right to education. Where people live in abject poverty, there is a failure to respect the right to be free from hunger and to an adequate standard of living. Where mothers die while giving birth, or where young ones die from preventable disease, there is a failure to respect the right to health.
The violation of rights in our communities does not end there, however. The country itself is in the grip of a culture of impunity, where human rights abuses have become much too common, and where the perpetrators of these wrongdoings run rampant.
Advocates who take to the streets, to give voice to the oppressed and the marginalized, find themselves rewarded with threats and harassment. They are branded as fronts and thereby turned into fair game, for those who would take justice into their own bloodied hands. Human rights defenders have been watched and surveilled, abducted and tortured, and summarily executed throughout our recent history. And out in the countryside in particular, the indiscriminate use of force as well as the violent promotion of commercial interests, have further undermined any claim that our nation meaningfully protect human rights, and abides by the laws and customs of war.
These are the serious incidents that have driven a wedge between the military and the police on the one hand, and civil society on the other. The disagreements and even enmity, at times run deep. Fundamental rights are at stake here, and abuses of those rights have taken place over time.
Notwithstanding this history and these serious and fundamental differences, there is a way forward. We must continue to dialogue with one another, and find areas of coordination and collaboration, and seek to understand one another, so that this gap between the parties does not become permanent. The differences as they exist today are not insurmountable. They are neither irreversible nor irremediable. We can find a way forward together.
Each particular community has its own particular set of problems. You are familiar with the unique issues and challenges in your area and in your neighbourhood, because whether you are a soldier, policeman, or otherwise, that is where you work, that is where you live, that is where your children play and go to school, and that is where your family is building its future.
Since all of you, without distinction, have this knowledge of your community, you are in a much better position to improve it, and to change it for the better. And by partnering with other members of your community who may have different political affiliations from your own, but have a common desire for peace and security in your community, this ability to bring progress to your region, your city and your town, is multiplied and magnified.
Unfortunately, this ability to come together in order to work to uplift our communities has been restrained and hampered. We are different people, with different backgrounds, and members of different institutions, and this can make it more difficult to work with other persons and other groups, especially when a layer of suspicion and mistrust has built up over time.
We cannot, however, let things reach the point where everything the government does is wrong in the eyes of civil society, or where everything civil society does is considered suspect by the government and its security forces. What has been surfacing throughout this project is the recognition that the government is not the enemy, and neither is civil society. Instead, the government is composed of people, and civil society also is composed of people, and as fellow human beings, we may have different beliefs and opinions, agendas and priorities, but we share certain things in common. We share in our humanity.
We love our families and our children. We wish to build better futures for our daughters and sons. And we desire to live in communities which are safe and secure, as well as free from oppression and abuse, hunger and poverty. As human beings we all benefit when the human rights which are inherent in all of us are respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled. We all have a stake in this outcome. We all have a role to play in order to build this better, more just and more humane society. And that shared interest and this common aspiration is stronger than any other thing which would force us apart.
These community-based dialogue sessions form part of the effort, to allow us to transcend our individual differences and diverse affiliations, in order to work toward the common goal of a better, more just and more humane society for us all. The Commission lauds this body, the participants and organizers, for the work you have done and continue to do, to build trust among your participants, and to harness this cooperation in order to work toward the improvement of your communities, and the protection and promotion of human rights.
That is also why we at the CHR are committing to join you in this endeavor. The Commission will be releasing instructions shortly, aimed at formalizing the participation of the CHR in this project, both at the national level, as part of the project Steering Committee, and at the local level, through the Commission's Regional Directors. We stand ready to partner with you, to be a bridge between the parties, so that the progress made in terms of communication, coordination and dialogue, between government security forces and civil society is sustained, strengthened and further enhanced.
So let us continue and sustain this dialogue.