ALBAY Rep. Edcel Lagman yesterday welcomed President Marcos Jr.’s creation of a special committee to promote and protect human rights under Administrative Order No. 22, but said it must be “complemented” with the proposed Human Rights Defenders Protection Act, which he asked the President to certify as urgent.
Lagman said the country should likewise ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a complementary act, noting that while the Philippines is a state party to eight human rights conventions, it has yet to join 71 States which have ratified the Convention.
Lagman said the proposed Human Rights Defenders Protection Act (HRD), which had been passed twice on third and final reading in the House of Representatives during the 17th and 18th Congresses, is again pending in the House after it was not acted upon by the Senate in the past two Congresses due to time constraints.
The HRD bill seeks to protect human rights defenders from harassment, prosecution, and even death at the hands of State agents and their private cohorts.
Lagman said the bill is based on the Model Law for the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders developed by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).
The bill defines an HRD as “any person, who individually or in association with others, acts or seeks to act to protect, promote, or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms, at the local, national, regional, and international levels.”
To make the special committee more effective, the Albay lawmaker said it should include representatives from civil society “who have vast experience in human rights advocacy.”
Moreover, he said “there must be full and strict implementation of the triumvirate of human rights statutes, namely the Anti-Torture Act, the Criminalization of Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance Act, and the Reparation and Recognition of Human Rights Violations Victims Act.”
In the Senate, Sen. Francis Escudero said the creation of a super body on human rights is welcome, but hopes that its intent will be truly implemented.
“I commend PBBM (President Marcos Jr.) for making such an issuance. I just hope its intent and letter will truly be implemented ‘down the line.’ It will not only help ‘erase human rights issues’ against the previous Marcos administration but … the country in general,” Escudero said in a message to the media.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said the special body is a “good idea to focus on strengthening the respect for human rights.”
“I support the initiative,” he added, while Senate majority leader Joel Villanueva thanked the President for prioritizing protection for human rights.
“Human rights are primordial and every Filipino citizen deserves to have them upheld and protected as enshrined in our Constitution. In fact, we have advocated for an increase in the budget of the Commission on Human Rights this year to enhance their capacity-building initiatives,” he said. — With Raymond Africa
