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Human Rights Situation
in the Philippines:
An Overview
Presented by
Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan, Dr PH
Executive Director
Philippine Human Rights Information Center
State Obligations to HR
Philippine government is a State party to
key HR instruments, i.e. it has ratified &
committed itself to respect, protect & fulfill
its obligations to these numerous
international HR treaties/covenants
As of December 2008, the Philippine
government has ratified virtually all the key
HR treaties/conventions adopted by the
UN General Assembly.
HR Treaties Ratified by GRP
HR Treaty
Status
Date Ratified
ICERD (3/ 7/’66)
Ratified
15 Sept. 1967
ICESCR (12/6/66)
Ratified
7 June 1974
OP-ICESCR (12/10/08)
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------
ICCPR (12/16/66)
Ratified
23 Oct. 1986
OP-ICCPR (12/16/66)
Ratified
22 Aug. 1989
CEDAW (12/18/79)
Ratified
5 Aug. 1981
OP-CEDAW (10/6/99)
Ratified
12 Nov. 2003
CAT (12/10/84)
Acceded
18 June 1986
OP-CAT (12/18/2002)
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-----
HR Treaties Ratified by GRP
HR Treaty
Status
Date Ratified
CRC (11/20/89)
Ratified
21 Aug. 1990
OP-CRC-CIAC (5/25/2000)
Ratified
26 Aug. 2003
OP-CRC-Sale of Children,
Prostitution…(5/25/00)
Ratified
28 May 2002
Ratified
20 Nov. 2007
Ratified
5 July 1995
OP2-ICCPR (Abolition of the
DP) (12/15/89)
Int’l Convention on the Protectn
of Rts. of All Migrant Workers &
Members of Their Families
(12/18/90)
HR Treaties Ratified by GRP
HR Treaty
Status
Date
Ratified
Conventn on the Rts. of
PWDs (12/13/2006)
Ratified
15 April 2008
-------
------
OP-Conventn on the Rights
of PWDs (12/13/2006)
Conventn Against Corruption Ratified
(October 2003)
Int’l Conventn for the
Protectn of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance
(12/20/2006)
--------
16 November
2008
---------
Source: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ratification
[Accessed: 31 Dec. 2008]
HR and the new administration
As newly elected leaders assume
office in the next few weeks, they will
be facing numerous
challenges/obstacles/threats which
are clear indicators of gross human
rights violations perpetrated under the
GMA government.
Poverty Situation
530,642 increase in
the number of poor
FAMILIES between
2000 and 2006 to
4.7M poor families in
2006 (NSCB)
2.1M increase in the
number of poor
FILIPINOS between
2000 and 2006—to
27.6M in 2006
(NSCB)
 Net income of the Top
1000 corporations in the
Philippines increased
490% between 2001 and
2007, from P116B to
P686 B (BW)
 Net worth of just the 20
riches FILIPINOS was
P801B (US$15.6B) = to
the combined income for
the year of the poorest
10.4M Filipino FAMILIES
(Forbes Asia, NSCB)
RIGHT TO FOOD
ESCR: Right to Food
 Rising costs of basic commodities & services have
resulted to a deterioration in the quality of food
consumed by Filipino families to rice and instant
noodles, a way of adapting to a life of deprivation.
 The series of natural & human-made calamities during
the past years (supertyphoons, volcanic eruption, flash
floods & armed conflicts) have further aggravated the
people’s enjoyment of the right to food, particularly the
economically disadvantaged population in the
agricultural sector.
 Hunger & malnutrition are concrete indicators of the
violation of the right to food affecting primarily the
vulnerable sectors namely children, women & the elderly,
in urban and rural poor communities.
ESCR: Right to Food
 Since June 2004, hunger incidence has been in double
digits, with the highest recorded in December 2008
(23.7% or about 4.3 million households). (SWS)
 In a hunger survey conducted by SWS during the 1st
quarter of 2009, an estimated 2.9 million families said
they experienced involuntary hunger at least once during
the period.
(http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/populareconomics.php?id=
0103 April 3, 2009, Cabarles)
 In another SWS survey, the hunger figure was placed at
20.3% as of June 2009. This translates to 3.7M families
or 1 in 5 families having nothing to eat in the last 3
months. (Business World, 07/27/09)
ESCR: Right to Food
■ The NSCB has classified 12.22 million
Filipinos as food-poor (NSCB)
Estimates put it that about 6M children
suffer from hunger & malnutrition forcing
the Arroyo government to launch a 10-year
program to attain nutritional sufficiency.
(Standard Today, 10/9/06)
ESCR: Right to Food
 The Philippines ranked 9 in the UNICEF report
(2009) among developing nations with the
largest numbers of children under five years old
who were moderately or severely stunted last
year (2008).
 This translates to 3.617 million Filipino children
below five years old suffering from malnutrition
or 3 out of 10 under-5 years old Filipino children
are malnourished
Source: http://beta.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=1451
Friday, November 13, 2009
ESCR: Right to Food
Add to these figures:
800,000 children who are thin for their
height last year,
642,000 Filipino children who are
moderately to severely thin, and
171,000 who are classified as severely
thin.
Source: http://beta.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=1451
Friday, November 13, 2009
ESCR: Right to Food
In the 90s, access to water was estimated
at 87%. By 2002, this declined to 85%; in
2006, it had further gone down to 80%
(National Water Regulatory Board).
ESCR: Right to Food
 Furthermore, the
prices of basic
commodities have
continuously gone up.
 Price of rice
increased 68%
between 2000 and
2008 (DA)
Regular milled rice to
P29.38 per kilo (from
P17.59)
Well-milled rice to
P32.71 per kilo (from
P19.45)
ESCR: Right to Food
 In 2001, diesel averaged
P13.96 per liter and
gasoline P16.58—In 2008
diesel averaged P44.31
per liter and gasoline
P45.92 (IBON monitoring)
 Peso price per liter of
Dubai crude increased by
an ave of P0.16 per
month since Jan 01- yet
pump price of diesel has
increased by P0.26 per
month.
Right to Food: Government Response
 To address the hunger problem in the country,
the GMA government launched the Accelerated
Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP) which
included anti-hunger programs like the Tindahan
Natin (P8.6B) and Bigasan sa Parokya (P1.5B).
 In a food insecurity & vulnerability information
mapping, 49 out of 77 provinces (63.6%) have
been identified as vulnerable to food insecurity.
Source:
http://www.fivims.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Ite
mid=55 (Accessed: 15 Feb 2009)
Right to Food: Government Response
The questionable PhP3.5M Food-for
School Program (FSP) incorporated by the
Arroyo government in the 2007 national
budget has been another response of the
GMA government to address the hunger &
malnutrition problem of children in the
country.
Right to Food: Government Response
Rice imports
increased 280%
from 639,000 tons
in 2001 to a record
2.4M tons in 2008.
(DA)
Agrarian Reform & the Right to Food
GMA Government promised to
distribute 200,000 ha. annually for
land reform program
 DAR distributed an
ave. of 119, 301 has.
annually (2001-2008)
o Estrada – 121,274 ha.
(1999-2000)
o Ramos – 296,395 ha.
(1993-1998)
o Aquino – 169,063 ha.
(1987 – 1992)
Agrarian Reform & the Right to Food
1,173,786 hectares of agricultural lands
still to be distributed, mostly sugar and
coconut lands owned by influential families
 Since 2001, 415 cases of agrarian-related
human rights violations (harassment and
killings of farmers) have been committed
which to this day remain unsolved.
(PARRDS)
RIGHT TO WORK
ESCR: Right to Work
Unemployment continues to be a
serious economic and social problem
in the country
ESCR: Right to Work
 True unemployment rate averaged some 11.2%
(NS0, IBON)
 621,000 increase in unemployment between Jan
2001 and Apr 2009 to 4.2M (NS0)
 Of the 60M Filipinos 15 yrs and above, 7.3%
(4.38M) are unemployed while 19.7% (11.82M)
are underemployed (NSO, Jan.2010)
 1.9M increased in underemployment between
Jan 2001 and Apr 2009 to 6.6M (NS0)
ESCR: Right to Work
 Combined unemployment and
underemployment increased 2.5M between
Jan 2001 and Apr 2009 –to 10.8M (NSO)
 Part-time work increased by 5.9M and now
accounts for 14.3M or 2 out of 5 of all jobs.
(NSO)
 990,000 Filipinos forced to work abroad
annually (DFA-CFO)
 About 3,000 Filipinos leave the country daily to
look for jobs abroad.
ESCR: Right to Work
 Low wages continue to be a serious obstacle in
enabling workers, peasants, fisherfolks,
employees to provide for themselves & their
families with the barest necessities for survival.
 A study of the National Wages & Productivity
Commission (NWPC) indicated that the living
wage for a family of 6 in Metro Manila is PhP871
daily to cover for food, non-food & other
essential expenses.
(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20080609141555/Workers-want-P80-not-P20-wage-hike [Accessed: 31 Dec
2008])
ESCR: Right to Work
Region
Agriculture
(in Pesos)
Non-Agriculture
(in Pesos)
Plantation
NonPlantation
National Capital Region
Php 345 - 382
Php 345.00 Php 345.00
Cordillera Administrative
Region (CAR)
243 – 260.00
226 - 242
226 - 242
Reg. VII (Central
Visayas)
222 – 267.00
202 - 249
202 - 249
Reg. XI (Davao Reg.)
265.00
255.00
255.00
ARMM
210.00
210.00
210.00
Source: http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/statistics/stat_current_regional.html
[Accessed: 31 Dec 2008]
ESCR: Right to Work
 Nominal min. wages
in NCR increased
from P252 in 2001 to
P382 in 2008 –true
increase is only worth
P12 because of
inflation. (DOLE,
NWPC)
ESCR: Right to Work
 The discrepancy between the daily minimum
wage with the estimated daily living wage for a
family of 6 has compromised the living
conditions of ordinary Filipinos, consequently
undermining their rights to life, food, health,
education & housing.
 In the name of survival, they make do with
whatever they can afford in terms of cheap & low
quality food items, substandard housing
facilities, unsafe water sources, poor sanitation,
ill health practices/self-medication, hazardous
environment, & low education.
Even with two members of the
family working, the combined
family earnings would still be
insufficient to provide for a
decent life for the family.
In Payatas, scavengers earn
only Php150 or less a day
after working for 9 hours.
Source:
http://bulatlat.com/main/2008/12/20/
in-the-miserable-depths-of-poverty/
[Accessed: 31 Dec. 2008])
ESCR: Right to Work
Contractualization or flexibilization in
employment
7 out of 10 firms in the country practice
contractualization, according to Mr. Donald
Dee, Pres. of the Employers’
Confederation of the Philippines.
ESCR: Right to Work
 Some of the worst "contractualizers" include:
1. Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco's San Miguel
Corporation (SMC) conglomerate (1,100
regulars out of its 26,000 total workforce)
2. Henry Sy's SM Shoemart (1,300 regulars out of
20,000 total workers); and
3. Manny Pangilinan's Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Company (4,100 regulars out of
10,000 workers).
ESCR: Right to Work
 Workers’ rights violated in the contractualization of
labor:
 Right to security of tenure (5-month contracts)
 Right to just wages & other benefits
 Trade union rights such as the right to form unions &
right to strike
 While in 1995 14.6 percent of the labor force was still
unionized, 2007 data show a much-reduced 5.6 percent
or 16,861 unions with a total membership of 1,893,000
workers.
Source: Bulatlat. The Philippine Labor Situation.
http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/08/philippine-labor-situation
(Accessed: 15 Feb 2009)
Right to Work: Government Response
 Government response to the unemployment
problem:
 Change definition of unemployment
 Labor export and
 Business-process outsourcing (BPO)
Source: Bulatlat. The Philippine Labor Situation.
http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/08/philippine-labor-situation (Accessed:
15 Feb 2009)
Right to Work: Government Response
Unemployment: New Definition
 In April 2005, a new definition of unemployment
started to be used by the NSCB, consequently
affecting unemployment figures in the country.
 Under the new definition, an unemployed person
is one who satisfies the 3 criteria:
1. Without job or business
2. Looking for work during the last 2 weeks
3. Available for work which constitutes the new
criterion in the definition of unemployment
Right to Work: Government Response
Labor export
Total labor force: 36,450,000
Officially employed: 33,536,000
More than 8.7M Filipinos are living and
working abroad in 190 host countries
About 3,000 Filipinos leave the country
daily to look for jobs abroad.
Right to Work: Government Response
Business Process Outsourcing (Call Centers)
 BPO industry grew from 5,600 employees and
US$56M in revenues in 2001 to 372,000
employees and US$6.1B in revenues in 2008
(NEDA)
 In 2008, BPO sector accounted for just 1.1% of
total employment and only some 2% of GDP.
(IBON computations on NSCB data)
 Manufacturing sector shrunk to as small as in
the 1950s - 23.1% of GDP (2008). (NSCB)
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
ESCR: Right to Education
From 2001-2009, government allotted only
15.1% of the national budget to education
(DBM)
In the 2009 budget, the allotment for
education grew by almost P20 billion from
the previous year. This translates to
government spending of P6 per Filipino
per day on education in 2009 while paying
the equivalent of P21 on debt service
(IBON computation on DBM data)
ESCR: Right to Education
 In terms of share of the national budget,
however, the amount received by education in
2009 actually shrank to just 11.87 percent, from
12.2 percent in 2008. This represented a drop to
only 2.36 percent of GDP, from 2.5 percent in
the previous year. On a per student basis, the
investment on education has been declining in
real terms.
Source: Tita C. Valderama. Gloria & her SONAs: Long on show, short
on substance. PCIJ, July 24, 2009
ESCR: Right to Education
 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (Unesco) sets the minimum share of
education in the national government budget at six
percent (6%) of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 The country allots only about 3% of its gross national
product to education, which according to foremer DepEd
Secretary Jesli Lapus is way below the international
standard of 6%.
Source: Tita C. Valderama. Gloria & her SONAs: Long on show, short
on substance. PCIJ, July 24, 2009
ESCR: Right to Education
 In a 2008 UNESCO Study, while the Philippines was
noted to have “sustained high enrolment levels” it
experienced a decline in survival.
 Among major problems identified in the study besetting
the educational sector were:
1. dilapidated/unfit school buildings & classrooms,
2. inaccessibility of schools from residence of children, and
3. lack of fundamental learning resources like libraries
Source:http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/economicindicators.ph
p?id=0263 Febraury 4, 2009
ESCR: Right to Education
Along with Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand
and Indonesia, the Philippines was
described in the Unesco study as one of
the countries “facing the greatest
challenge in the number of out-of-school
children,” with each aforementioned
country having “more than 400,000
children not enrolled in 2005.”
ESCR: Right to Education
Elementary participation rate dropped to
84.4% in SY 2005-2006, from 90.1 percent
in SY 2001-2002 (DepED)
44.5% of household heads only had
elementary level education at most (2003
Family Income and Expenditure Survey)
ESCR: Right to Education
Net Enrollment Ratio Drop-Out Rate
Period
Elem
Hi School Elem
Hi School
2004-05
87.1
60.0
7.0
8.0
2005-06
84.4
58.5
7.3
12.5
2006-07
83.2
58.6
6.4
8.6
2010-11
73.0
83.7
4.3
8.1
Source:
http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/economicindicators.php?id=0263
h
Febraury
4, 2009
t
ESCR: Right to Education
 OSC/Y increased by 2.45M between SY 20002001 and 2008-2009 to reach 4.69M (DepEd)
Elem – increased by 1.62M to reach 2.04M
HS – increased by 822,097 to reach 2.66M
 11.6 million Filipinos aged 6-24 years are out of
school (NSO)
 1.95M directly due to deterioration of
participation rates during the Arroyo admin.
Elem – 96.8% in 2000-01 to 85.1% in 2008-09
HS – 66.1% to 60.7% over the same period.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
ESCR: Right to Health
The low priority given by the State on the
people’s right to health can be gleaned in
the health budget through the years.
From 2001-2009, the GMA allotted only
1.8% of the national budget to health
(DBM).
ESCR: Right to Health
In the 2009 General Appropriations Act,
only 1.7% of the total budget went to
health. The Department of Health’s budget
for 2009 was P23.7 billion, the highest in
history yet equivalent only to just 0.32% of
2008 gross domestic product (GDP).
ESCR: Right to Health
 The government run on an unprecedented
P1.414 trillion budget, with debt servicing taking
up almost a fifth or P253 billion of the 2009
National Budget.
 For an estimated population of 92.2 million in
2009, per capita health spending in the 2009
budget was just P257 per Filipino or merely 70
centavos a day.
Source:
http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/economicindicators.
php?id=0318 August 19, 2009
ESCR: Right to Health
The health budget is way below the 5% of
GDP recommended by the World Health
Organization (WHO) for developing
countries like the Philippines.
ESCR: Right to Health
 The low priority given by the Arroyo government on
health has branded the Philippines among the worst in
Southeast Asia when it comes to providing health
services to its people.
 The WHO, in its World Health Statistics 2009, ranks the
country 5th out of 11 countries in the region in terms of
government spending as a share to total health spending
for 2000. The Philippines was only ahead of Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Source:
http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/economicindicators.php?id=0318
August 19, 2009
ESCR: Right to Health
 Growth in the utilization of health services available at
health facilities in the country has declined at an average
annual rate of 6.9% over the 1998-2007 period,
according to ADB data.
 Government hospital use declined at an annual rate of
4% from 1998-2007
 Private hospital use declined at a sharper annual rate of
6.8% for the period 1998 to 2007.
Source:
http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/populareconomics.php?id=0
125 September 11, 2009
ESCR: Right to Health
 The biggest drop in health facilities’ utilization
was registered in the use of rural health units
(RHUs) and private clinics, declining by 8.9%
and 8.4% per annum over the period 1998-2007,
respectively, the ADB said.
 “Over the period, there has been a shift of trend
in utilization of a health facility among the
Filipinos toward government hospitals and away
from primary public health facilities such as
RHUs and BHSs.” (ADB Study, 2009)
ESCR: Right to Health

The ADB study attributes the sharp decline in health
service availments among the poor to the ff
factors/reasons:
1. Lack of ability to pay for health services so that the poor
postpone seeking care until the illness severely
affects/hinders the mobility & economic activity of the
individual
2. High cost of medicines/pharmaceuticals in the country
which were among the highest in Asia,
3. Failure of health care supply to keep pace with
population growth which may be due to scarcity of
materials, lack of staff and equipment.
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/populareconomics.php?id=0125
September 11, 2009
ESCR: Right to Health
 Lack of health staff in health facilities & hospitals
is primarily due to uneven distribution of health
personnel across regions and/or mass exodus of
health professionals abroad.
 Lack of jobs, low pay & lack of opportunities for
professional growth have been push factors for
the mass exodus of Filipino health professionals
for abroad.
 The right to health of Filipinos has been
compromised with public health facilities closing
down, especially in the provinces, due to the
lack of doctors & nurses.
ESCR: Right to Health
The mass exodus of health workers &
professionals has led to
Heightened disparities & inequities
Decrease in health services coverage
Decline in the nurse-patient ratio
In 2004, there were only around 4 doctors
and 5 nurses for every 100,000 Filipinos.
ESCR: Right to Health
Health continues to be a low priority for
most Filipinos because of their inability to
access affordable, quality health goods &
services like drugs & medicines
Across income groups, self-care is the
most prevalent behavior (50%-64%)
The poorest consult a doctor least and
consult a traditional healer the most.
Source: 1993 DOH-PIDS Household Survey
RIGHT TO HOUSING
ESCR: Right to Housing
MTPDP for 2004-2010 placed the housing
backlog at 1,170,800 units.
Only 0.5% of the 2009 national
budget is allocated to housing
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW090809/content.php?id=054
September 8, 2009
ESCR: Right to Housing
 According to Prof. Cielito Habito, former NEDA Director,
the Philippines was behind its Asian neighbors with only
0.089% of GDP spent on housing from 2000-2007.
 Compare this figure to other Asian countries, namely:
 Singapore -2.089% of GDP
 Thailand - 0.742%; and
 Bangladesh - 0.354%
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW090809/content.php?id=054
September 8, 2009
ESCR: Right to Housing
 In 2005-2006, 80,000 families were evicted due
to the Northrail and Southrail projects. Only 50%
were given relocation and one-fourth of the
evictions were violently conducted (Urban Poor
Associates)
 Common HR violations experienced by urban
poor residents include:
1. Violent & illegal demolitions and
2. Failure to provide appropriate relocation areas
HR and the new administration
The new administration will also wrestle
with the shadows of impunity cradled by
the previous regime as evidenced by:
- extrajudicial killings
- enforced disappearances
- illegal arrest & detention
- cases of torture
- displacements due to militarization &
development aggression
HR and Corruption
 The new leadership will
also be confronted by the
numerous scandals of
graft & corruption cases
which characterized the
GMA administration.
 P20.9B (US$430M) in
total kickbacks, ill-gotten
wealth and payoffs were
recorded in just 17 major
corruption cases under
the Arroyo administration.
HR and Corruption
1. Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad
Nonima (IMPSA) – allegedly US$14 M in payoffs
2. PIATCO-NAIA Terminal 3 project – US$20-70 M
3. PEACE Bonds – PhP1.4 B commission for
allies
4. Jose Pidal accounts – laundered PhP300-400 M
5. Arroyo’s US properties – US$7.1 M
6. Fertilizer funds – PhP728 M
Source: Pagbabago! People’s Movt for Change Research Working Group
HR and Corruption
7. Quedancor swine scam – Php 728M for
presidential election campaign
8. North Luzon Railways Project (NorthRail) –
US$503 M
9. Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard – PhP536 M
overprice
10. Jueteng Pay-offs – PhP500,000 - PhP1 M
monthly kickback
11. Mega-Pacific Poll automation contract – PhP
500 M overprice
12. Malacañang cash handouts to
congressmen/LGUs – US$3.8M
Source: Pagbabago! People’s Movt for Change Research Working Group
HR and Corruption
13. Military comptrollers scandal (Euro Generals) Euros 106,000
14. Mismanaged PAGCOR/GSIS funds –
hundreds of millions of pesos
15. NBN-ZTE scan – US$329project; US$130M
kickback
16. Cyber-Education Project – PhP 27B
17. World Bank-funded National Road
Improvement and Management Project-1
(NRIMP-1) expose - $30-45M lost to bribes to
cartels backed by DPWH officials (EC De Luna
Construction Corp.)
Source: Pagbabago! People’s Movt for Change Research Working Group
HR and Corruption
Effects of corruption:
Indicative of weak/poor governance
Diverts resources to private interests
Results to HRVs –poor deprived of
resources for the fulfillment of ESC rights
like food, water, health, education, shelter,
etc.
Flaws of the past
The Arroyo administration’s unsatisfactory
human rights performance could be traced
to the following:
- Lack of clear HR agenda. All of past
GMA’s SONAs hardly touched on human
rights, an indication of the scant respect &
importance this administration has
accorded to people’s freedoms and
entitlements.
Flaws of the past
- the need to stifle dissent in the face of
exploding scandals (Hello Garci, NBN-ZTE)
and ensure political survival
- anti-insurgency campaigns (leftist and
Moro rebels) that focused more on military
victory rather than addressing root causes
of rebellion/insurgency
- lack of moral ascendancy to uproot
corruption
Flaws of the past
- adherence to neo-liberal policies that led
to lack of investment to and privatization of
infrastructure and basic social services,
and opening of local industries and
products to unfair competition.
- the aggressive promotion of the country
as haven for foreign mining companies
resulting to untold sufferings and abuses
against local and indigenous communities
and to the environment.
Flaws of the past
- adoption of a debt-driven development
strategy and automatic appropriation of
huge chunk of the national budget to debt
servicing at the expense of delivery of basic
services.
- reliance on foreign loans and funding
rendering the country’s economic
development strategy hostage to the neoliberal impositions of international financial
institutions such as the IMF, WB, and WTO.
Human Rights Situation
The newly elected administration should
put human rights at the
heart of governance to erase its
predecessor’s legacy of impunity and
relegation of its duties
to its people.
Max M. de Mesa
Human Rights & Peace Agenda
 To contribute to this endeavor, the human
rights community is putting forward the
following 10-Point Human Rights & Peace
Agenda:
1. Ensure respect for HR & Rule of Law
2. Reform the security forces & judiciary
3. Review the Counterinsurgency plan & establish
a truth & reconciliation mechanism
4. Provide sustainable rehabilitation and
resettlement assistance to IDPs
5. Integrate human rights principles in the Medium
Term Dev’t Plan
Human Rights & Peace Agenda
6. Advance the social and cultural rights of the
people
7. Pursue the promotion and protection of children
and women’s rights
8. Respect and protect the rights of IPs & Moro
people
9. Promote the economic rights of the people
10. Fulfill the State’s int’l HR commitments &
obligations to UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies
Salamat Po.
Dignity and
Justice for All!