Philippines meets human rights issue head on

By Belinda Olivares-Cunanan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: April 29, 2008

The Philippines has come to acquire considerable notoriety over the so-called extrajudicial killings in recent years. So when Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who chairs the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), and his multi-agency delegation addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) earlier this month in Geneva on "The Philippine Commitment to Human Rights," it was verily like bearding the lion in his own den.

The occasion was the "universal periodic review" by the UNHRC, wherein all the 192 member countries are reviewed on their human rights record. PHRC Executive Director Cecile Quisumbing said the countries are grouped into three groups of 16 countries to be reviewed per year. Because the Philippines wanted to be a member of the UNHRC, it agreed to be one of the first nations to be reviewed; and given what we went through, it was well that we met the issue with candor and sincerity.

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Ermita made his 19-minute presentation last April 11 and interaction with some 47 countries followed for about one-and-a-half hours. Reading through his speech and his team's responses to queries, I must say I didn't realize we have such a long list of accomplishments in the area of human rights since 1987, in terms of executive and administrative orders and legislation creating various agencies to protect different constituencies as well as court decisions upholding these rights.

The Philippine human rights story begins with the creation of the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Ombudsman in the 1987 Constitution, as Ermita put it, "years before the Paris Principles for national human rights were agreed upon." Aside from the creation of the PHRC and legislation such as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 and the Human Security Act of 2007 (which limits detention without charge to three days), there are agencies for the protection of children in 73 out of 81 provinces, all the way down to 40,994 out of nearly 42,000 villages, as well as those protecting women and migrant workers.

Ermita stressed "that commitment to human rights remains paramount even in the midst of active insurgencies and other threats to national security" as well as during the martial law years . "Human rights promotion and protection is a key feature in the peace processes currently being pursued," he said.

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Reading the reactions of various countries, I note the absence of open skepticism from the usual critics on the killings, doubtless because the number of cases fell by 83 percent last year. But Canada and a few other countries lamented that few convictions have been made, while European Union countries insisted that the Philippines should not squander the momentum to resolve those killings. The United Kingdom complained that "reporting obligations to treaty bodies are often delayed and implementation of treaty obligations remains a problem."

A number of countries pressed the Philippines to ratify the Optional Protocol on the Convention against Torture, and this was what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did upon the delegation's return. Interestingly, for this move the Philippines won plaudits from UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston and Amnesty International, who also expressed the hope that the Senate's concurrence would be forthcoming soon.

On the whole, the Philippines won points for having invited and cooperated with Alston and, as Thailand put it, the "candor" of its "well-prepared" presentation. Congratulations to the team, which included Social Welfare Undersecretary Alicia Bala and Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor and PHRC Executive Director Cecile Quisumbing. The team got enormous help from our Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Erlinda Basilio.

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An event memorable to Filipino and Italian Christian Democrats took place last month in Rome. Ambassador Philippe Lhuillier, recognizing the positive influence of Italian political ideals on Filipino migrants, organized together with the Municipio II of Rome a seminar on "Italian influence on Filipino migrants in Italy," as part of the year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Italy.

The seminar focused on Rome-based Filipino sculptor/painter Tomas Concepcion, who was given by President Arroyo the Presidential Award for the Arts during her visit last year. In his over 40 years' stay in Italy, Concepcion imbibed its political ideals, especially its great respect for labor and human dignity, which led him to establish the first Filipino association in Rome and help found the Christian Democrat movement in the Philippines.

At the Rome ceremony, Norma Macalindong, the presidential award recipient for "Outstanding Entrepreneur in Europe" and who some years back discovered politics as a means to protect and promote the Filipino migrants' rights by successfully running as counselor adjunct in the Municipio II, paid tribute to Italy's political system that allowed immigrants like her so much political leeway.

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Lhuillier cited the influence of Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, who was prime minister in the 1970s and from 1989 to 1992 and served in various ministries, and is now a senator-for-life. He is considered a living symbol of Italian political ideals for the more than 200,000 Filipinos in Italy, now the fourth-largest foreign community there. To celebrate the occasion and Andreotti's mentoring role in his political growth, Concepcion crafted a bronze bust of the Italian statesman which was presented personally to him. He said it was Andreotti's personal contribution that made possible the first CD congress at the Folk Arts Theater in 1986, attended by 4,800 delegates.

Friends of Concepcion will be happy to know that he recently came out with the first part of his 400-page autobiography, titled "Lo Straniero." I was the one who encouraged him two years ago to write his autobiography. Concepcion whose Manila exhibit, "Homage to Michelangelo," last year was sponsored by Italian Ambassador Rubens Anna Fedele, is very busy with his next show in San Francisco.