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MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Saturday stressed that law enforcers must still respect the dignity even of health rules violators, after Silay, Negros Occidental police paraded residents who breached face mask policy, which was also shared online.
“We continuously remind law enforcers to adhere to human rights-based policing, including respect for every person’s dignity. Parading alleged quarantine violators on the streets may amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment penalised by Republic Act No. 9745 (Anti-Torture Act) and barred by Convention Against Torture signed by the Philippines,” CHR spokeswoman Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement, reacting to the video on the parade of face mask violators in Silay City.
The CHR official agrees that enforcement for health protocols must continue but it should still be guided by “human rights principles.”
“The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) agree that we need to continuously work together to curb the transmission of the Covid-19 virus by faithfully adhering to health safety protocols set by experts,” she said.
“However, as we have repeatedly stressed, addressing the current pandemic must always be guided by human rights principles. After all, the present national health crisis is a human rights issue—not a mere law enforcement agenda,” De Guia pointed out.
The nation’s human rights office in Western Visayas will investigate the incident which will also look into the side of Silay police.