PHILIPPINES – ANNI urges Senate to pass Bill to strengthen the Commission on Human Rights
3 March 2010 8:43 am
On 22
February 2010, the Asian NGOs Network on National
Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), issued an appeal to the Senate of
the Philippines regarding Senate Bill 2657, entitled, AN ACT
STRENGTHENING
THE FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
On 22
February 2010, the Asian NGOs Network on National
Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), issued an appeal to the Senate of
the Philippines regarding Senate Bill 2657, entitled, AN ACT
STRENGTHENING
THE FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
The Senate Bill
2657 which remains pending with the Senate Committee on Human Rights
aims to strengthen the functions and powers of the Commission on Human
Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) as an institution. Thus, the ANNI is
urging for speedy deliberation of the
Bill, and to consider its concerns regarding the guarantees of
pluralism
and civil society representation in the composition, selection, and
appointment of members of the CHRP.
While the ANNI welcomed several aspects of the Senate Bill in
question,
it raised concerns on certain provisions in the draft law. For
instance,
Section 4 (d) stating that the Commission should be composed of a
Chairman
and four Members who are members of the Philippine Bar and have been
engaged in the practice of law for at least 10 years, and Section 5
stating that selection and appointment of the members of the CHRP
shall
be made by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments. These provisions, according to the ANNI,
should be further amended so that there would be full compliance with
the Paris Principles. At the same time, the ANNI believes that
precluding
civil society in the selection and appointment process of the members
of the CHRP runs counter to the provisions of the Paris Principles on
guarantees of pluralism.
In its letter,
the ANNI also raised the issue of appointing Assistant Commissioners
under Section 22 of the Senate Bill. It pointed out that this has no
added value to the work of CHRP and may only be another layer of
bureaucracy
that may hinder the efficient functioning of the Commission.