INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday doubled down its support for the enactment of the Human Rights Defenders (HRD) bill following opposition to the proposal.
While the Commission did not name a specific group or person, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) had recently slammed the said bill, fearing that it may render the Anti-Terrorism Act and other bills “toothless.”
READ: NTF Elcac: Human rights defenders bill could make anti-terror law a ‘toothless paper tiger’
The CHR “reiterates its support for the enactment of the Human Rights Defenders Act in view of the increasing reports of serious risks and dangers faced by human rights defenders.”
According to the CHR, HRDs have faced violence, red-tagging, and even death for upholding the rights of the marginalized.
READ: CHR: 89 ‘human rights defenders’ killed from 2017 to 2019
“Instead of spreading fear, CHR believes that it would be more productive for other stakeholders to have an open and genuine dialogue with the advocates of the said bill, human rights defenders, as well as with the CHR, to eliminate any doubt and address misunderstanding on what the proposed legislation seeks to achieve and the realities that it seeks to address,” said the Commission.
The principal author of the Human Rights Defenders bill, or House Bill No. 77, is veteran lawmaker Albay 2nd District Rep. Edcel Lagman. It seeks to protect HRDs from the harassment they may face while working.
“The tragic plight of Filipino HRDs as a result of the relentless persecution against them by the government shamefully aggravates the State’s culpable non-compliance with the constitutional mandate that the ‘State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights,’” Lagman previously said.