Aguirre says CHR ‘one-sided,’ wants Gascon to quit

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday supported the calls for Commission on Human Rights chairman Chito Gascon to resign, saying that the CHR does not care about victims of drug traffickers.

"Hindi ba Commission on Human Rights [dapat] protektahan nila ang human rights ng everybody....Ano ba ang diperensiya ng mga minors na pinatay ng mga pulis at yung mga scalawags, at minors na pinatay nitong mga drug traffickers na ito? walang diperensiya 'yan, pare-parehong inosente ang mga minors na 'yan. Ngunit isa lamang ang nakikita nila," Aguirre told reporters on the sideline of the 3rd International Dialogue on Human Trafficking held at Makati City.

"Leadership, yung kanilang focus ng panunungkulan. Hindi nila ginagawa yung kanilang panunungkulan na protektahan ang human rights ng everybody," he added.

"Hindi nila ginagawa yung dapat nilang gawin. I-condemn nila ang lahat ng human rights violation, hindi yung masyadong one-sided. May nakita ka na ba nilang ikinondena na mga human rights violation na mga ibang groups diyan, mga communist o itong mga pinatay na SAF. Kinondemn ba nila ito? Hindi," Aguirre said.

"Baka 'yun [Gascon's resignation] ang makaluwag if ever. Kasi masyadong, alam naman natin kung sino ang nag-appoint sa kanya at 'yun lamang ang parang tinitingnan niya," he added.

Gascon was appointed to head the CHR in 2015 by then-president Benigno Aquino III.

With a vote of 119-32, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved 1-SAGIP party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta's motion to reduce the CHR's 2018 budget to P1,000.

Marcoleta argued during his interpellation that the Commission should have been investigating all human rights violations, regardless of which group an individuals belongs to.

The CHR called the House's decision a "display of vindictiveness."

Senator Panfilo Lacson, who is the sponsor in the Senate of the CHR's budget for 2018, said that the chamber would stand its ground on the P678-million allocation for the constitutional commission in 2018. — BM, GMA News