House panel approves Human Rights Defenders bill

The House Committee on Human Rights approved on Tuesday the Human Rights Defenders bill, a measure which will require government agencies to act on reports of human rights violation within three days, among other protective clauses for rights workers.

The House human rights panel, chaired by Representative Cheryl Deloso-Montalla of Zambales, approved the measure with no objection among committee members, most of them authors of the measure from the Makabayan bloc.

Commission on Human Rights chairperson Chito Gascon welcomed the passage of the bill, describing it as a groundbreaking step not only for the Philippines but in Asia.

“We thank you for passing this landmark legislation during the Human Rights Consciousness Week. This is significant because this proposed law is the first of its kind not only in the Philippines, but in [the] Asia Pacific region. This will put flesh to the UN Declaration of Human Rights Defenders which is being commemorated on its 20th anniversary,” Gascon said.

“This will send a strong message that it is possible to have an effective mechanism for human rights defenders, so I would like to thank the authors of this bill for the effort.  The passage of this into law would mean that the Philippines is back in the map in terms of human rights protection and promotion,” he added.

Gascon also noted that the three-day response time is necessary to ensure human rights is not violated.

“For a human rights victim, even one day could be too long,” Gascon pointed out.

Congress will only be in session until December 12 before going into Christmas break, but Montalla is optimistic that the bill will gain enough support in time despite the tight schedule and President Rodrigo Duterte’s constant threats against human rights workers who criticize his administration’s war on drugs.

“We have to always believe that everything is possible,” she said. — RSJ, GMA News