The document provides an introduction and overview from the Commission on Human Rights for the 2010-2011 period. It discusses the Commission's activities over the year, including distributing compensation to Marcos-era human rights victims, conducting human rights education events, and interventions on economic and social rights cases. It outlines the Commission's strategic plan and six guideposts for strengthening national human rights mechanisms, enhancing service delivery, building alliances, institutionalizing comprehensive monitoring, promoting a human rights culture, and ensuring institutional resilience. The Commission reports on progress achieved and challenges faced in implementing initiatives and legislative agenda.

1. Ulat sa Taong Bayan
2010 / 2011
For more information, please contact:
CHAIRPERSON LORETTA ANN P. ROSALES
Commission on Human Rights
UP Diliman, Quezon City
t: +63 2 928-5655
e: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com
www.chr.gov.ph
Contents
02. Introduction from the Commission
06. Guidepost One – Strengthened National HR Mechanism
07. Guidepost Two – Enhanced Human Rights Service Delivery
07. Guidepost Three – Alliances at Various Levels
08. Guidepost Four – Institutionalized Comprehensive Monitoring
09. Guidepost Five – A Culture of Human Rights
09. Guidepost Six – A Resilient Commission
10. Confronting Weaknesses and Challenges
10. Recommendations
12. Annex – The Paris Principles
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2. Introduction from the Commission
The Commission on Human Rights will soon be celebrating its 25 th year of
service. On the eve of this milestone, we take this opportunity to refect on
our performance particularly during the last calendar year 2010-2011 after
the Commission adopted its new strategic plan, Roadmap for Human Rights
2010/2016.
Two activities stand out this year – the distribution of checks to more than
6,000 members of the class of victims of human rights violations under the
Marcos Regime and the conduct of the 2nd National Human Rights Educators
Congress – in addition to the regular services provided by the Commission.
The Commission also commemorated two important events that
strengthened the country's general human rights promotion and protection
framework – the ratifcation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court and the adoption of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the
Anti-Torture Act of 2009.
The Commission's role as the national comprehensive monitor has been
enhanced through its successful intervention not only in cases involving civil
and political rights violations but in cases implicating economic, social and
cultural rights cases as well. Foremost of these are interventions that resulted
in the disapproval by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of
gender-discriminatory economic provisions in the collective bargaining
agreement between the Philippine Airlines and the Flight Attendants and
Stewards Association of the Philippines; the reinstatement of twenty-nine
illegally dismissed local government employees in Taft, Eastern Samar; and
the stoppage or postponement of forced evictions of several urban poor
communities. Of special mention is the critical role of our specialist centers:
the Women's Human Rights Center spearheaded the repeal of Manila's
infamous EO 3 or the ban on artifcial contraceptives; the Child Rights Center
has been able to shape the discourse on the responsibility of media to
protect children's rights, and as against calls to amend the Juvenile Justice
Welfare Act; the Forensic Center has been very busy conducting autopsies
and other forensic services all over the Philippines and often at a moment's
notice.
The Commission has resolved the Capitanea case involving the killing of a
PDEA agent attributed to the agency itself. The Commission also issued
several human rights advisories and position papers on such issues as illegal
arrests/arbitrary detention; use of non-lethal sonic devices; local standards of
fulflment of the right to housing; the FASAP case; and the call to accord
former President Marcos a state funeral at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The
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3. year also saw the roll-out by the Commission of several tools integrating
human rights-based approaches in the following areas of work: legislating
children's rights; the legislative liaison system; human rights education and
training; immigration detention; and management of detention facilities in
order to prevent torture.
International engagements helped raise the Commission's profle in business
and human rights, prevention of torture and reproductive rights. The
Commission also submitted an independent report as part of the 2 nd Cycle of
the Universal Periodic Review. While the year saw the untimely demise of
former Chairperson Dr. Purifcacion Valera-Quisumbing – the staunchest
advocate for the integration of international human rights norms, standards
and principles in domestic legislation and practice – it also witnessed the
selection of another Filipino, Prof. Virginia Dandan, as UN Independent
Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity.
Internally, the Commission's thrust of fostering high professional standards,
synergistic working dynamics, and people-focused service delivery has led
to the adoption of a new Manual on Investigation and Case Management
Process and the impending completion of its frst Omnibus Rules of
Procedure.
As a national institution operating under severe resource constraints, the
Commission has been able to accomplish signifcantly more than its regular
budget would have allowed by pursuing collaborative projects with (1) the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the ground-
level monitoring of the situation of internally displaced persons in Mindanao;
(2) the European Union on enhancing the role of National Human Rights
Institutions in ASEAN; (3) the New Zealand Government (NZAID and NZ
Human Rights Commission) on human rights community development; (4)
the Australian Government (AusAID) on empowering indigenous
communities, improving forensic capabilities and enhancing case
management; (5) Asia Foundation and USAID on developing a Martus-based
HR Executive Information System; and of course, (6) UNDP under its
development and governance Philippine portfolio. This December we shall be
commencing the implementation of a multi-year program on strengthening
the Commission on Human Rights with the support of the Spanish Agency
for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
Partnerships with local organizations have also been intensifed. The
Commission has partnered with the Medical Action Group in training
municipal health offcers in forensic investigation; the Philippine Alliance of
Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) on conducting case conferences;
Ecowaste Coalition on defning the nexus between human rights and
chemical safety; the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos on training
Muslim community paralegals; Rainbow Rights Coalition on advocating for
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4. LGBT rights in the workplace; ESCR-Asia and the International Movement of
Development Managers on the conduct of the 2 nd National Human Rights
Educators Congress; Likhaan and ReproCen on combating gender
discriminatory and anti-RH policies at the local level; Alternative Law Groups
on facilitating community-based human rights dialogues with the Armed
Forces of the Philippines; and the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy
on the provision of human rights training for aleemats or the women scholars
of Islam and their communities; Mindanao Human Rights Action Center on
community-based monitoring of human rights and many others.
This year also marked the frst time that the Commission participated in the
annual Pride March – the only delegation coming from a government agency.
We intend to make this an annual tradition not for publicity or any other
purpose but to underscore fundamental principles of equality and non-
discrimination in the fght against violence, social stigma and HIV-AIDS.
We shall likewise build upon the resulting relationships with civil society and
the other government agencies alike to expand the human rights safety net
down to the community level, where it matters most. An example of a new
initiative along this line scheduled to begin in 2011/2012 is the project on
developing a human rights manual of practice for DOJ prosecutors with the
Institute for the Administration of Justice of the UP Law Center in
cooperation with civil society groups with experience working on both civil
and political as well as ESC rights violations.
During 2010/2011 the Commission has been working hard to secure the
passage of vital human rights legislation. This include: (1) the CHR Charter
which would vest it with expanded powers, including prosecution of human
rights offenses; (2) Anti-enforced Disappearance Bill; (3) Compensation of
Victims of Martial Law; (4) Protection of Internally Displaced Persons Bill; and
(5) Anti-extrajudicial Killings Bill. The enactment of the frst three bills, Deputy
Speaker Lorenza Tanada III had announced last December 6, is assured in
the 1st quarter of next year.
The great promise of human rights remains to be fulflled, especially in a
context like ours where years of corruption and contemptuous disregard of
the people's trust have resulted in the veritable rape of the nation's
resources. Public spending has consequently contracted as the
administration sought to tie up loose ends and root out corruption. The
introduction of zero-based budgeting is a positive step – one that assures
accountability not only in budget execution in budget authorization as well.
Yet only an increased and improved awareness of human rights by all can
help protect the most vulnerable against a disproportionate impact of cuts in
public spending. The Commission has begun to work with others to promote
the development of human rights impact assessments to assist budget
decision making and policy making
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5. The Commission itself has suffered two years of successive budget cuts.
Worse the Commission's fscal autonomy has sustained a tremendous blow
in the 2012 GAA when Congress, heeding the Department of Budget and
Management's recommendation, maintained the transfer of the
Commission's budget for unflled positions to the Miscellaneous Personnel
Benefts Fund. Without doubt, this will development will have to be
considered when the Commission undergoes re-confrmation of its “A”
accreditation with the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs next
year.
Nevertheless, the Commission is of the view that the positives far outweigh
the negatives. Tomorrow's sun shines even brighter upon the present Aquino
administration's assurance that human rights remains to be the foundation of
its platform for good governance and inclusive economic development.
Loretta Ann P. Rosales, Chair
Ma. Cecilia Rachel V. Quisumbing, Commissioner
Ma. Victoria V. Cardona, Commissioner
Norberto D. dela Cruz, Commissioner
Jose Manuel S. Mamauag, Commissioner
8 December 2011
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6. Guidepost One – Strengthened National Human Rights
Mechanism
The Commission shall contribute to the overall efforts at strengthening
the various mechanisms for human rights protection and promotion in
the country particularly, national policies or laws to harmonize
international standards with domestic laws, executive policies and
programs to implement standards, and institutional mechanisms at the
national and local levels.
Although no major human rights legislation has been enacted in the period
covered by this Report, the Commission has received assurance from
Congressional leadership that 3 out of 5 proposals in its Human Rights
Legislative Agenda are slated for enactment in the 1 st quarter of 2012. These
are: the Commission on Human Rights Charter, the Act Penalizing Enforced
Disappearance and the Act Authorizing the Compensation of Victims of
Martial Law under the Marcos Dictatorship. The IDP Bill and the Anti-EJK Bill
will hopefully be passed by the 2 nd quarter.
Even as the ratifcation of the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against
Torture (OPCAT) and the Convention Against Enforced Disappearances
remain pending in the Senate, the Philippines has become the newest state
party to the International Criminal Court when the Rome Statute was ratifed.
Moreover, we are expecting the election of the frst ever Filipino member of
the Court in the person of renowned international criminal law expert Senator
Miriam Defensor Santiago.
The work for the creation of a National Preventive Mechanism for OPCAT has
been temporarily put on hold pending its ratifcation, but the Commission
has, in partnership with the Association for the Prevention of Torture, adopted
a Detention Monitoring Strategic Plan using the Preventive Approach which
serves as a very appropriate ground work for the eventual formation of the
NPM.
The National Monitoring Mechanism (NMM) for Extrajudicial Killings will soon
be launched with the Commission and the Presidential Human Rights
Committee jointly coordinating preparatory efforts. Incidentally, after this
Report, a coalition of Civil Society groups will be launching a people's
monitoring mechanism. We welcome this and other complementary
initiatives.
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7. Guidepost Two – Enhanced Human Rights Service
Delivery
Enhanced human rights protection services contributes to improved
human rights situation and the strengthening of the rule of law, thereby
rebuilding people’s trust in the government and democratic institutions.
To improve the delivery of human rights protection services, the Commission
has been able to fnalize it Omnibus Rules of Procedures. Next week, the
Commission en banc will be able to formally approve it and direct its
publication as well as submission to the Offce of the National Administrative
Register of the UP Law Center.
With support from the European Union and The Asia Foundation, the
Commission has fnally approved a new Manual on Investigation and Case
Management Processes. Copies of the manual are now available for your
perusal. With the support of the Australian Government, we intend to use this
manual and the soon-to-be adopted ORP as the basis for improvements in
our Martus-based Execution Information System in order to facilitate
professional case management and more accurate statistical analysis.
AusAID has also committed signifcant resources to help us upgrade our
tools and techniques in human rights investigation through forensic science.
This will help speed up resolution of high profle cases and improve
documentation of fndings and evidences for prosecution- ready reports.
We have also updated our Organizational Performance Indicator Framework
(OPIF) to allow for seamless integration with the Philippine Development
Plan. By clarifying our major services and outputs into three main categories:
promotion, protection and policy, we expect to generate a more coherent
understanding of our accountabilities to the people.
Guidepost Three – Alliances at various levels
As a strategy for effective and effcient program delivery, the CHRP shall
forge alliances and partnerships with the various stakeholders on
human rights at the international, regional, national, and grassroots
levels.
At the domestic front, the Commission has been able to maintain strong
linkages with both civil society groups and government organizations on
common areas of work, particularly on education, training, research, and
advocacy. Various Memorandums of Undertaking (MOU) have been
concluded with these stakeholders on specifc initiatives.
However, the Commission has yet to revitalize its internal mechanism for a
more regular engagement with NGOs and CSOs. The proposed Guidelines
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8. on Partnership Development including Accreditation in accordance with
international standards like the Kandy Program of Action, remain pending.
At the operational level, the Commission has been able to assure a
reasonable degree of certitude that foreign- assisted and technical
cooperation projects are aligned and rationalized with the core mandates and
priorities of the CHRP. However, the European Commission had decided not
to renew its support for the regional initiative aimed at promoting the role of
national human rights institutions in ASEAN. Nevertheless, under the
Commission's leadership, the Southeast Asian NHRI Forum (SEANF) has
been able to achieve critical synergies in business and human rights,
reproductive health and anti-discrimination, and prevention of torture.
Inspired by its successful work holding a multinational mining frm
accountable for human rights abuses in Didipio, Nueva Viscaya, the
Commission successfully parried its membership in the International
Coordinating Committee of NHRIs and the Asia Pacifc NHRI Forum to rally
other NHRIs on a frm platform in support for business and human rights. It
was elected a member of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights
of the ICC.
Guidepost Four – Institutionalized Comprehensive
Monitoring
A major enhancement to the strategic and operational framework of the
Commission is the articulation of Comprehensive Monitoring (CM) as
the way to go. CM is an evolving system of determining government
compliance with human rights treaties in the execution of executive,
legislative, judicial and other government functions, systems and
processes with the end in view of harmonizing them with the standards
and principles of human rights and recommending appropriate
measures and actions.
In response, CHRP has develop or adapt several tools for monitoring,
particularly on monitoring places of detention, including immigration
detention, as well as on monitoring the human rights situation of internally
displaced persons in Mindanao. Work continues on the identifcation of a
comprehensive set of national human rights indicators, with the assurance of
technical and fnancial support coming from the Right to Development
Section of the Offce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
Quite signifcantly, we have been able to establish baseline information up to
the provincial level on civil and political rights violations (EJK, ED and torture)
through the Legal and Investigation Offce. We aim to cascade this capability
to the regional offces as part of the general overhaul of our investigation and
case management practices.
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9. Guidepost Five – A Culture of Human Rights
The ability to respect human dignity and human rights should be second
nature to every person.
The Commission has been able to generate overfowing enthusiasm for
human rights among stakeholders in the security sector, law enforcement
sector, tertiary education sector, local government units, and basic
communities, as evidenced by the resounding success of the 2 nd National
Human Rights Educators Congress and the three marathon runs for human
rights held this year.
The Commission has been able to develop and implement community-based
human rights education and empowerment programs for indigenous
communities as well as Islamic women scholars and paralegals. Various
regional offces, foremost of which is Region I, have been able to incubate
regional networks of human rights education centers. Along with the lessons
learned in the general review of our Barangay Human Rights Action Center
program, funded by UNDP, we intend to systematize community-based
human rights education and training under a National Center for HRET, in
compliance with the UN Decade Program on HRE, the UPR recommendation
to train security forces on HR, and the recently adopted UN Declaration on
the Right to Human Rights Education and Training. This initiative shall receive
the bulk of the support coming from the Spanish Government through AECID
and shall be complementary to LIO's grassroots-based human rights
protection and promotion initiative BHRACs under a more solid footing in
local governance structure, which is being considered by the European Union
for funding next year.
Guidepost Six – A Resilient Commission
Strengthening the CHRP as the national human rights institution in the
country is a primordial concern considering its present organizational
weakness.
At the core of these is the lack of a comprehensive enabling document - a
charter that would clothe it with an equal legal stature along with other
constitutional commissions. As we have stated earlier, the Commission is
naturally elated at the prospect of having a new Charter by the early part of
2012.
Organizational reforms are progressing at a slow pace. A new organizational
structure will have to be approved soon, to be followed by serious efforts to
standardize internal communication processes, human resources
development, and fnancial management.
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10. We remain highly committed to the forging of healing relationships within and
without. The Commission en banc has agreed to adopt clearer internal rules
of procedure and a code of ethical practice for members of the Commission.
Confronting Weaknesses and Challenges
In the course of its work, the present Commission has come to the
conclusion that the success of its work is ultimately dependent on its ability
to apply the human rights based approach to development. Internally this
means the translation in direct and concrete terms of principles and
standards drawn from the core content of human rights norms. In this light,
the biggest internal obstacle is bureaucratic inertia. As a young institution
conceived upon revolutionary ideals according primal value to selfess
service for humanity in all circumstances, the Commission is unfortunately
being hampered by a continuing limited ability to envision itself upon a
position of general accountability, professional competence and people-
centered service.
External challenges come in the form of the government's lack of serious
investment in frming up the framework for implementing human rights. The
Commission is still seen as an agency for implementation instead of an
institution concerned with monitoring implementation. Thus, the perceived
ineffectiveness of the current Presidential Human Rights Committee to
marshall the various forces of the Executive branch under a single cohesive
human rights agenda. We can only but speculate as to the real reasons
behind the administration's insistence that the Commission's personnel
budget remain within the former's purview.
Recommendations
Informed by its experience in the past year 2010/2011, the Commission
submits that the
United Nations and the International Community
• Continue to encourage Governments all over the world to invest
suffcient resources towards the effective provisioning of national
institutions for human rights protection and promotion;
• Further interrogate the nexus between human rights, governance and
development, on that basis capacitating governments to adopt the
Human Rights Based Approach in the performance of their functions;
The Executive
• To back its institutional commitments for human rights with suffcient
resources to implement the Philippine Development Plan, the new
internal peace and security plan, to investigate and prosecute human
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11. rights violations, and to educate all stakeholders on human rights,
utilizing the process appropriate human rights approaches;
• To co-sponsor the draft UN Resolution on the Role of NHRIs;
• To enrich the Philippine Development Plan and the Annual Investment
Program with vital learnings inspired by the Business and Human
Rights Framework;
The Legislative
• To pass with all deliberate speed the CHR Charter, the Anti-ED Bill, the
Marcos Victims Compensation Bill, the Anti-EJK Bill and the IDP
Rights Bill;
• To consider in good faith and approve without delay the Reproductive
Health Bill, the Anti-Discrimination Bill, the Freedom of Information Bill,
the Rights of the Informal Sector Bill and other vital human rights
legislation;
• To ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearance and the OPCAT;
The Judiciary
• To intensify the delivery of human rights education and training
programs for judges and offcers of the judiciary;
• To include human rights among the mandatory courses in both
undergraduate legal education and continuing legal education;
• To consider amendments in the Rules of Court as to facilitate the
speedy dispensation of justice;
Civil Society and People's Organizations
• To continue to engage with the Commission in pursuit of common
human rights concerns;
• To work for a fair and common understanding of human rights bridging
across ideological, religious, ethnic and other artifcial divides;
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12. Annex
The Paris Principles
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines complies with the
United Nations (UN) Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions,
known as the Paris Principles. These are a series of recommendations on the
role, status and functions of national human rights institutions which were
developed in Paris in 1991, and adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1993. The Paris Principles provide that national human rights institutions
should:
• Be established in the Constitution or by a law that clearly sets out its role
and powers;
• Be given the power to promote and protect human rights and have as
broad a mandate as possible;
• Be pluralist and should co-operate with nongovernmental organisations
(NGOs), judicial institutions, professional bodies and government
departments;
• Have an infrastructure that allows them to carry out their functions;
• Have adequate funding to allow the institution “to be independent of the
government and not be subject to fnancial control which might affect
this independence”;
• Have stable mandates for the members of the Commission provided for by
law. They provide that national human rights institution shall have duties and
powers including:
• Making recommendations and proposals to Government, Parliament or
other competent bodies, on existing and proposed laws, administrative
process, or changes to the organisation of the judiciary which will impact on
human rights, human rights violations, and the general situation of human
rights or specifc issues it decides to take up;
• Promoting harmonisation of national law, policy and practice with
international human rights law and standards;
• Contributing to international human rights reviews of the state;
• Cooperating with the United Nations and other bodies dedicated to
promoting and protecting human rights;
• Promoting teaching and research on human rights and organising public
awareness and education programmes;
• To publicise human rights and efforts to combat discrimination by
increasing public awareness, especially through information and education
and by making use of media channels. They also provide guidance on the
methods of operation and powers of national institutions. National human
rights institutions should:
• Be entitled to consider any issue falling within their competence without the
need for authorisation;
• Be entitled to hear any person or gather any evidence needed to consider
matters falling within their competence;
• Publicise their decisions and concerns, as well as meet regularly.
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