Primacy of human rights watered down in draft charter, groups warn

The federal constitution drafted by President Rodrigo Duterte's Consultative Committee made no mention of human rights in its declaration of principles.

An official of a human rights watchdog group and another from a lawyers' alliance expressed fear that the proposed change could court "misinterpretation" and reflect a "watering down" of the primacy of human rights.

Section 11, Article II of the 1987 Constitution states: "The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights."

On the other hand, Section 13, Article II of the Con-com's proposal reads:
"The Federal Republic values the dignity of every person and guarantees full respect for the person and the right of all citizens to participate in all government processes."

Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of the Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples' Rights, warned of the risk of dropping the "human rights" tag.

"The human rights based approach ensures the cohesiveness and consistency of principles adhered to by a government, even if on paper, to internationally accepted human rights principles and standards. Its explicit non-inclusion in the said provision and in the other provisions poses a danger of misinterpretation," she said.

Meanwhile, Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers, said the Con-com's specific proposal shows a "watering down of the primacy of human rights and the increasing tilt towards state powers and government's role in our lives."

But lawyer Antonio Arellano, one of the members of the committee who was in charge of the declaration of principles and state policies, said the proposed change does not mean to dilute the government's respect for human rights.

Arellano explained that the phrase "values the dignity of every human person" is "all-encompassing," "absolute and fundamental," and that declaring respect for both human dignity and human rights would be redundant.

"Human rights' recognition is actually based on the recognition of human dignity. Respect accorded to human dignity begets respect for human rights," he said on Tuesday.

He further said the guarantee for the value for human dignity is a declared principle in Article II, which serves as the basis of the Bill of Rights, a point that Antonio La Vina, former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, agreed with.

The Con-com has proposed to elevate the Commission on Human Rights to the level of a constitutional commission, he said. "So where is the watering down?" —NB, GMA News