Manuel S.

Enverga University Foundation

Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009

Expanded Tertiary Equivalency Education Accreditation Program

Prof. JOANA FE B. PANGANIBAN, MA, RGC

College Lecturer
Email address: jfembp@[Link]
Mobile number: 09334947812

SOCIAL SCIENCES MODULE 4

PHILIPPINE SOCIETY: A SPECIAL CONCERN ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Introduction

The study of human rights is a study of social justice, equality and inclusiveness. These are

all elements of human development, which is the goal of all development seekers:

government and non-states alike. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNCHR) at

the start of the twenty first century stood firm and grounded, not only of the promotion of

human rights but of the deeper appreciation of human rights education.

Shultz (2009), the Director of Amnesty International in one of his addresses, “With the

destructive forces of world wars and evils of slavery for 120 years earlier, and the new

winds of decolonization sweeping many parts of the globe, all societies should presumably

have been more informed about the need for a stable and just world.” He was referring this

to people who are persecuted, tortured and killed and whose fundamental citizen’s rights

are being taken advantage of. What he meant was, there is a need to study human rights.

The study of Human Rights aims to provide a transformational response to local struggles

against oppression. As a common vision, the goal to protect human rights serves as catalyst

for change. To achieve significant change in expanding social inclusion, fighting

discrimination, and acting upon injustice, human rights values have to be implemented in

the minds, cultures and actions of people. Education plays a crucial role in this, and it

should not be underestimated as it represents a milestone toward a common vision of

human dignity. While education is in itself a human right, Human Rights Education is

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
about the provision and development of awareness about fundamental rights,

freedoms and responsibilities.

Human Rights (UNCHR) defines Human Rights Education as: “A long-term and lifelong

process by which all people at all levels of development and in all strata of society learn

respect for the dignity of others and the means and methods of ensuring that respect in all

societies, significantly contributes to promoting equality and sustainable development,

preventing conflict and human rights violations and enhancing participation and

democratic processes.

Human rights education should be deliberate, participatory in practice, and should be

aimed at empowering individuals, groups and communities. The study of human rights

should build a culture of respect. It should also play a vital role in building social structures

that support participatory

democracies and the resolution of conflict, and can provide a common understanding

of how to address political and social differences equitably and celebrate cultural

diversity.

International Human Rights

It was the tragedies of the two World Wars that compelled the international community to

create a world organization with the purpose of furthering peace and justice, by

encouraging the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The

lesson of the Second World War was that, when a State pursues a deliberate policy of

denying persons within its territory their fundamental rights, not only is the internal

security of that State in jeopardy, but in serious situations there is a spillover effect that

imperils the peace and security of other States as well. Effective protection of human rights

is consequently also an essential precondition for peace and justice at the international

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
level, since it has inbuilt safeguards that offer the population ways of easing

social tension at the

domestic level before it reaches such proportions as to create a threat on a wider scale.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains as relevant today as it was in 1948.

The most resonant and beautiful words in the declaration are “all human beings are born

free and equal in dignity and rights”. The universal declaration all promises economic,

social, political, cultural and civic rights that underpin a life from want and fear.

Noted: You may save a copy of the International Human Rights

[Link]

The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the

United Nations system made up of 47 states responsible for the promotion and protection of

all human rights around the world. Some of the issues that they are attending to are: 1)

adequate housing, 2) civil and political rights, 3) climate change, 4) death penalty, 5)

detention, 6) disability and human rights, 6) trafficking in persons, 7) HIV AIDS, 8)

Poverty, 9) Racism and 10) Terrorism.

OCHR provides a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing responses to today’s

human rights challenges, and acts as the principal focal point of human rights research,

education, public information, and human rights advocacy initiatives in the United Nations

system. Their work focuses on three dimensions: standard-setting, monitoring, and

implementation on the ground. They also work in partnerships with civil society, national

and international human rights institutions and private sectors.

([Link]

PHILIPPINE’S COMMISSON ON HUMAN RIGHTS

After the Marcos administration, former President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order

No. 163, series of 1987: Declaring the effectivity of the Creation of the Commission on

Human Rights as provided for the in 1987 Constitution, providing guidelines for the

operation thereof, and for other purposes.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
The Commission’s sole duty is to protect the civil and political rights of

citizens of the Philippines.

Based on the Constitution, the Commission has a broad mandate, which can be categorized

into three major functional areas:

1) Human Rights Protection – Investigation and case management of complaints of

violations, including all the powers and services in aid of investigation, of civil and political

rights as well as economic, social, and cultural rights. Such powers and services include:

citing for contempt for violations of its rules of procedure; legal aid and counseling;

visitorial powers over jails and detention facilities; application of forensic techniques in aid

of investigation; witness protection; and, financial assistance to victims;

2) Human Rights Promotion, which includes the wide range of strategies for policy,

advocacy, promotion, social mobilization, education, training, public information,

communication, research, networking and linkages; and

3) Human Rights Policy Advisory derived from monitoring government’s compliance with

the treaty obligations that the Philippines has acceded to: International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights (ICESCR), Convention Against Torture and Other Degrading Treatment or

Punishment (CAT), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW), Convention Against Racial Discrimination (CERD), Convention on the

Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their

Families (CMW); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

This also includes the entire aspect of monitoring and evaluating the performance of the

Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary to translate international human rights standards

into national policies, laws, and practice. The Supreme Court of the Philippines in 1991

declared that the Commission did not possess the power of adjudication, and emphasized

that its functions were primarily investigatory.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
An interesting read

[Link]

Recently, the CHR is seen to be involved in political innuendos and accusations. Its current

head, Chito Gascon, was an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III and has

served during President Cory Aquino’s term as main adviser in the revolutionary

government, and member to both the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987

Constitution. He was an Undersecretary at the Department of Education (DepEd, from

2002-2005) & the Office of the President (Political Affairs, from 2011-2014). He was also a

Board Member of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) from 2010-2011.

Indeed, a highly-politicized affiliation with the Liberal Party.

The true constitutional mandate of CHR which is to fairly address human rights issues in

the Philippines for the whole community seems to be compromised with politically

motivated intentions. Remember the abuse of the Indigenous Lumads last year? Where was

the CHR then when the Lumads badly needed their help and support? Where was the CHR

in the “Kidapawan Massacre” last March 27, 2016? How did the CHR handle the

Mamasapano tragedy? Why did they claim it to be an “incident” when in reality it was a

“massacre”? What actions have the CHR taken on violations of the rights of women; human

trafficking; the rights of those rotting in jail, illegally detained; the rights of the poor; unfair

labor practices; the sick who cannot afford to pay for hospital bills; the homeless; the rights

of the children – rape, sex and exploitation?

The ultimate question is: Has the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) been constituted

already in Congress as stated in the 1987 Constitution? Or is this Commission still under

Malacañang’s Presidential Committee on Human Rights? Is this Commission working on

legal grounds as a valid and constituted Commission?

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
As for the 119 congressmen who voted for a P1,000 budget, shame on you. If

you want to get rid of the Commission and its Chairman, do it with more legitimate reasons

and actions. Have some honor and self-respect. Find a more dignified way in trying to make

a point. You are the very ones destroying the moral fiber of this nation by your unrefined

ways. Mag hunos dili naman kayo.

As for the President and his PNP Chief, you can go on with your War on Drugs but kill the

oppressors, the big ones and not the oppressed. Clearly, there is something wrong with the

police force under your command. Too many innocent lives have been lost and wasted.

Please take heed of the late Chinese philosopher, general and military strategist SunTzu’s

words: Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

The Philippine’s Bill of Rights

ARTICLE III

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,

nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects

against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be

inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause

to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the

complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be

searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except

upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise, as

prescribed by law.

(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible

for any purpose in any proceeding.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression,

or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government

for redress of grievances.

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship,

without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be

required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law

shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel

be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may

be provided by law.

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be

recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts,

transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy

development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by

law.

Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors,

to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be

abridged.

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

Section 11. Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance

shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have

the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent
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Lucena City
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CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of

counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and

in the presence of counsel.

(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free

will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other

similar forms of detention are prohibited.

(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be

inadmissible in evidence against him.

(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as

compensation to and rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their

families.

Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua

when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or

be released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired

even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be

required.

Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process

of law.

(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is

proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the

nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial,

to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance

of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment, trial

may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused provided that he has been duly

notified and his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended

except in cases of invasion or rebellion when the public safety requires it.

Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all

judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Section 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and

aspirations.

(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime

whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman

punishment inflicted. Neither shall the death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling

reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty

already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.

(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner

or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman

conditions shall be dealt with by law.

Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.

Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If

an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall

constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

Section 22. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

PHILIPPINES – A SPECIAL CONCERN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

The following report was retrieved from the Human Rights Watch
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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
[Link]

Rodrigo Duterte took office as president of the Philippines on June 30, 2016. Duterte

campaigned on an explicit platform to “kill all of you who make the lives of Filipinos

miserable,” including criminal suspects, as part of his vow to “solve drugs, criminality, and

corruption in three to six months.” At his inauguration, he pledged that his administration

would “be sensitive to the state’s obligations to promote, and protect, fulfill the human

rights of our citizens … even as the rule of law shall at all times prevail.” During the

government’s campaign against illegal drugs, however, Duterte has publicly praised the

extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers and drug users.

Philippine human rights groups have linked the campaign and Duterte’s often-fiery

rhetoric to a surge of killings by police and unidentified gunmen since he took office, with

nearly 4,800 people killed at time of writing. Police say that individuals targeted by police

were killed only after they “resisted arrest and shot at police officers,” but have provided no

evidence to support the claim. The killings have highlighted the country’s long-standing

problem of impunity for abusive state security forces.

Other key issues confronting the Philippines this past year include the rights of indigenous

peoples, violations of reproductive health rights, child labor, and stigma and discrimination

related to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Extrajudicial Killings

The Philippines has seen an unprecedented level of killing by law enforcement since

Duterte took office. Police statistics show that from July 1 to November 3, 2016, police

killed an estimated 1,790 suspected “drug pushers and users.” That death toll constitutes a

nearly 20-fold jump over the 68 such police killings recorded between January 1 and June

15, 2016. Police statistics attribute an additional 3,001 killings of alleged drug dealers and

drug users to unknown vigilantes from July 1 to September 4. The police categorize those

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
killings as “deaths under investigation,” but there is no evidence that police

are actively probing the circumstances in which they occurred.

In August, Philippine National Police Director-General Ronald Dela Rosa stated that he did

not “condone” extrajudicial killings. In September, Police Internal Affairs Service sources

said they were “overwhelmed” by the scale of police killings and could only probe “a

fraction” of the deaths.

Duterte has ignored calls for an official probe into these killings. Instead, he has said the

killings show the “success” of his anti-drug campaign and urged police to “seize the

momentum.” Key senior officials have endorsed this view. Duterte’s top judicial official,

Solicitor-General Jose Calida, defended the legality of the police killings and opined that

the number of such deaths was “not enough.”

Attacks on Indigenous Peoples

In March 2016, some 6,000 protesters, primarily indigenous peoples, farmers, and their

supporters from drought-stricken areas in North Cotabato and Bukidnon provinces

gathered in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to call for government food aid and other

assistance. The police response included shooting live ammunition into the crowd, killing

two people. At time of writing, neither the Senate nor police have released the results of

their respective investigations into the incident.

Reproductive Health Rights

In his July 25 State of the Nation Address, President Duterte pledged to “put into full force

and effect” the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (the RH Law). Such

support is greatly needed because on January 8, 2016, the Philippine Congress eliminated

funding in the 2016 national budget for contraception guaranteed under the RH Law,

cutting vital support for lower-income individuals. Millions of Filipinos rely on state-

provided contraceptive services and supplies for protection from sexually transmitted

infections, and for safe birth-spacing and family planning. The United Nations Population
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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
Fund has criticized the congressional action as a threat to “the basic human

right to health as well as the right to reproductive choices.”

Human Rights Watch has also documented policies implemented by local governments

designed to derail full enforcement of the RH Law. In Sorsogon City in the Bicol region,

Mayor Sally Lee issued an executive order in February 2015 that declared the city a “pro-

life city.” Although the order does not explicitly prohibit family planning services and

contraceptive supplies, health workers, and advocates said that the city government gave

oral guidelines to the city’s public clinics to cease the distribution of family planning

supplies and instead promote only “natural” family planning methods such as the Catholic

Church-approved “rhythm method.”

In Balanga City, the municipal government banned local public health officials and clinics

from procuring or distributing contraceptives. That interruption compelled low-income

people to either buy them from pharmacies or clandestinely from local government-

employed midwives at relatively high cost.

Children’s Rights

In November 2015, the Philippine government detained more than 140 children in advance

of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila. The arbitrary

detentions were part of so-called clearing operations aimed at beautifying the city ahead of

the summit. Police detained the children under guard in government facilities for the

homeless and orphans and then released them without charge when the summit concluded.

Child labor in small-scale gold mines remains a serious problem. Children work in unstable

25-meter-deep pits, dive underwater to mine, and process gold with mercury. Small steps

taken by authorities to tackle child labor—such as vocational training for former child

miners in one mining town—have been undermined by continued lack of regulation of the

small-scale gold mining sector, and by the government's failure to address child labor

systematically.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
HIV Epidemic

Although national prevalence is still low, the country has experienced a sharp rise in new

HIV infections in recent years. Prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has

increased 10-fold since 2010. In 2015, the Department of Health reported that at least 11

cities registered HIV prevalence rates among MSM of more than 5 percent, with one—Cebu

City, the second largest city—recording a 15 percent prevalence rate in 2015. That

compares to a 0.2 percent HIV prevalence rate for the Asia-Pacific region and a 4.7 percent

HIV prevalence rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has the most serious HIV epidemic in

the world.

There has also been an increase in Cebu City in HIV prevalance among pregnant women,

and in newly recorded infections among people who inject drugs in Cebu City, where the

prevalence rate among such people has been recorded at between 40 and 50 percent. Many

of these new infections among people who inject drugs are due to sharing contaminated

needles.

The growing HIV epidemic is driven by a legal and policy environment hostile to evidence-

based policies and interventions that could help prevent HIV transmission. Such

restrictions are found in national, provincial, and local government policies, and are

compounded by the resistance of the Catholic Church to sexual health education and

condom use. Government policies create obstacles to condom access and HIV testing, limit

educational efforts on HIV prevention, and have ended harm reduction programs in Cebu

City that were previously distributing sterile injecting equipment to people who inject

drugs.

The Philippine government is fueling a rising human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

epidemic among men who have sex with men through policies that restrict interventions

proven to prevent transmission of the virus.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
The House of Representatives began consideration of House Bill 267, the “Anti

SOGI (Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity) Discrimination Act” in June 2016. If

approved, it will criminalize discrimination in the employment of lesbian, gay, bisexual,

and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and prohibit schools from refusing to register or

expelling students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate has

introduced companion legislation, Senate Bill No. 935, otherwise known as the Anti-

Discrimination Bill (ADB), which had its first hearing in August.

House Bill 267 will also sensitize police and law enforcement officers on LGBT issues and

train them to attend to complaints. These initiatives are essential given that LGBT rights

advocacy groups have warned that hate crimes against LGBT people are on the rise and

that the Philippines has recorded the highest number of murders of transgender

individuals in Southeast Asia since 2008. The bill would also prohibit anti-LGBT

discrimination in access to health care.

Key International Actors

The United States remains a key source of military financial assistance, with the Obama

administration allotting US$120 million for 2016. Earlier military financing was

conditioned on improvements of the human rights situation in the Philippines, but this

conditionality has been lifted as part of the Obama administration’s so-called “Asia pivot.”

President Duterte has expressed dissatisfaction with US-Philippines relations, even saying

he is willing to expel US military personnel stationed in the Philippines, but conceded that

the country still needs US military help because of the South China Sea dispute with

China.

Other countries such as Canada and Australia, as well as the European Union, continue to

provide assistance to the Philippines for, among other things, capacity-building programs to

improve the human rights situation. Spain has given funds and resources to the national

Philippine Commission on Human Rights.

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Lucena City
Granted Autonomous Status
CHED CEB Res. 076-2009
In November, the US State Department announced that it had suspended the

sale of 26,000 military assault rifles to the Philippine National Police due to human rights

concerns raised by Duterte’s abusive “war on drugs.” The EU has transitioned its rule of

law program called EPJUST II, which involved training the police and other law

enforcement agencies, into GOJUST, which is tasked with instituting justice sector

reforms.

REFERENCES

The Future of Human Rights US Policy for a New Era (2017) edited by William F.

Schulz

[Link]

Levin, L. (2001) Human Rights: Questions and Answers. United Nations,

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations.

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