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BASED solely on the first words the new Chairperson
of the Human
Rights Commission Atty. Leila de Lima told media
right after being sworn in by Chief Justice Reynato Puno, we find a
reason to hope that the CHR will henceforth become a more effective
body. The CHR promises be more successful now than before in curbing
human rights abuses by government men and going after abusers who
have been pinpointed by witnesses and victims.
We also feel that Ms. de Lima
will succeed in prodding President Arroyo to give the necessary
powers and resources to the Palace’s Human Rights Committee so
that this relatively new office can do its job effectively of
monitoring the executive department agencies’ human-rights
compliance. This committee, created by the President, also needs the
power to discipline abusive officials and officers of the law.
President Arroyo should grant that power. She also should vest her
human rights committee with the moral force of an announcement to
the agencies of the executive department that all investigations and
sanctions of the committee has her personal seal and approval.
Chairperson de Lima became famous
as an election lawyer for opposition politicians. Her boldness in
tangling with powerful Comelec officials and with candidates known
to be friends of Malacañang and beneficiaries of the Palace’s
patronage impressed the public. We are glad that Mrs. Arroyo was
impressed with Ms. Lima’s qualification and appointed her CHR
chief.
It was encouraging to hear Ms. de
Lima say that she would end the “institutional cowardice” that
has deterred the CHR from doing all it can, aggressively, against
abusers. We think not only the CHR has been guilty of
“institutional cowardice” in moving against abusers but also the
Office of the President. The latter should be more zealous in
arresting and prosecuting police and military officers, and their
paramilitary and civilian agents, against whom affidavits have been
filed by victims and their families.
Chairperson de Lima has promised
to review the Melo Commission report and that of the United
Nations’ Human Rights Reporter Philip Alston so she can give
“closure” to human rights cases and extra-judicial killings that
have been pending for years. These are encouraging words, especially
since the government—through the Department of Justice and both
the police and military commands—have made light of the Alston
report. “We intend to seek the truth about extra-judicial killings
and enforced disappearances. We will closely evaluate both the Melo
and Alston reports,” she said.
She specifically mentioned the
extrajudicial disappearance of Jonas Burgos as among the cases that
she wishes to give closure to, noting that it is a great shame that
the “rest of the world [is] keenly watching the human rights
situation in this country.”
Ms. de Lima vowed to take steps
to strengthen her commission and to promote sensitivity to human
rights among Filipinos down to the lowest levels of society.
The new CHR chairperson warned in
an interview with GMA-News.TV that there were provisions of the
Human Security Act that could prove detrimental to citizens. Later,
in an interview over ABS-CBN’s ANC channel, she said she found one
good thing in the HAS: it gives the CHR some prosecutorial powers.
These powers have never been used. We look forward to Ms. de Lima,
her fellow commissioners and the CHR’s lawyers brandishing these
weapons against government officials and uniformed officers who have
committed human rights violations in the course of supposedly
securing our country from terrorists.
She has also said she will seek
more prosecutorial and quasi-judicial powers for the CHR. She
explained that these are needed so the Commission can carry out its
constitutional assignment to investigate and resolve human rights
abuses. These are also needed by the CHR if it is to fulfill its
duty, which the Philippine government vowed to uphold at the United
Nations, of making accurate reports to the UN on Philippine
compliance with its treaty obligations to protect its citizens from
human rights abuses and to prosecute and penalize abusers.
We urge the Congress to pass the
necessary laws to empower the CHR. May the end of human rights abuse
in the Philippines happen during the seven years of Chairperson De
Lima’s term.
The Army’s new chief, too
Appointed Chief of the Philippine
Army—vice Gen. Alexander Yano who was appointed AFP Chief of
Staff—Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado immediately reminded soldiers of
their duty to respect and protect the human rights of their
countrymen. He also vowed to actively cooperate in investigating the
disappearance of Jonas Burgos.
He told the soldiers that human
rights would be among his principal and “dynamic advocacies” as
PA chief.
He said he would remind them of
this important duty to safeguard the human rights of citizens from
time to time.
“Sometimes, we forget when you
do not say it over and over. Sometimes, people have their own ideas
how to fight the war and sometimes they make mistakes,” he said.
He promised to sponsor seminars on human rights for his soldiers.
If Gen. Ibrado will be truly
active in promoting human rights awareness and compliance among
Philippine army men, and if they heed their chief’s command, we
will see a dramatic fall in human rights abuses in our country.
We will also see a decline in the
population’s sympathy for the New People’s Army and the
Communist Party of the Philippines.
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