Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 5379

Introduced by Representatives NERI JAVIER COLMENARES,
TEDDY A. CASINO, RAFAEL V. MARIANO, RAYMOND V. PALATINO,
LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN, EMMI A. DE JESUS
and ANTONIO L. FINIO

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF IN IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE 1998 U.N. DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITY OF
INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND ORGANS OF SOCIETY TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT
UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS OR OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
UN DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine government was one of the 48 original signatories to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948. The government later signed and ratified the multilateral treaties on
human rights namely The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and The
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These official acts of the
Republic of the Philippines is a commitment that the government shall not only respect human
rights but rust also protect and promote these rights.

However, despite these commitments human rights violations continue to plague the Philippines.
‘The international community, including the United Nations have expressed serious concern over
the systematic and continuing violations of human tights, including the phenomena of extra
judicial killings and enforced disappearances. It is within this context that the need for and the
importance of human rights defenders coming from human rights groups and advocates came to
the fore. :

These courageous band of human rights workers and advocates, from various sectors including the
farmers, religious, women, trade unions, indigenous peoples and many other groups concerned
with human rights, managed to document human rights atrocities and persevere in working, for the
protection of human rights during the darkest periods of Philippine history when fundamental
freedoms were trampled by the very government that commited to protect these rights.


However, this international recognition of the importance of human rights defenders has grimly
been negated in the killings, disappearances. tortures, vilifications, persecutions, harassments, and
other abuses of human rights defenders.

Human sights defenders in the Philippines face human rights violations themselves in the course
of their work and these violations include killings, death threats, abductions and kidnappings,
arbitrary arrest and detention, and other actions of harassment and intimidation, such as
defamation campaigns and the fiting of trumped up charges aimed at harassing human rights
workers. All these violations also target the immediate family members of human rights defenders,
{including their children), and their other relatives, so as to prevent them from continuing their
activities. Human rights campaigns are affected in many regions in the country by restrictions on
the activities and the persecution of human rights defenders leaving the people more vulnerable to
human rights abuse. :

Worse, human rights defenders in the country have been tagged as “enemies of the state” by
government and harshly dealt with as such. Not a few of them like Eden Marcellana, Eddie
Gumanoy, Leima Fortu, and Benjstine Hernandez were brutally slain. From the time former Pres.
Gloria Arroyo became president up to the end of her term in June 2010, for example, there were a
total of 1,206 victims of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary exccution (or EJKs) in the
Philippines. Of the total number, 476 were human rights defenders (TIRDs). There were 206
victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance 68 of whom were human rights defenders.
‘Scores from their ranks have been physically assaulted, tortured, treated inhumancly, cruelly and
degradingly, and threatened, harassed, and intimidated. These violations are continuously being
committed with impunity by goverament security forces.

Women human sights defenders are particularly at risk, and other groups and categories of
defenders who are particularly exposed to attacks and human rights violations as a result of the
work they carry out include defenders working to promote civil and political rights — notably
freedom of expression and freedom'of thought, conscience and association - as well as economic,
social and cultural rights, notably collective rights such as the tight to food and access to natural
resources, including trade-unionists, and also those working for minorities’ and community rights,
children’s rights, indigenous peoples’s rights, among others,

These attacks on human rights defenders were by no means limtited to the Philippines. Despite the
international recognition of what is known today as the Intemational Bill of Human Rights, many
countries not only continue to violate the rights of their people, but also attack human rights
workers and advocates who criticize governments for human rights abuses.

The intemational community, intending to protect an important cog in the mechanisms for the
protection of human rights, agreed to respond these attacks and promulgated a resolution intended
to emphasize the rights and importance of human rights defenders.

{in recognition of the valuable roles of human rights monitors, documentarists, rapporteurs, and
advocates, the United Nations General Assembly, in its 85% Plenary Meeting on December 9,
1998, through General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144 the “Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally


u .
Secognized Human Rights and Fucidamentat Freedoms” ar what is known in the United nations
as the Declaration on Human Righ's Defenders.

‘Considering the important role of human rights defenders in the protection of human rights in the
rantry and the Philippine government's international commitment to promote, defend and protcct
human rights, iL is imperative that the Congress should put into law that commitment as eashrined
in the UN General Assembly Resolution on the rights of human rights defenders. [t is necessary
that the relevant provisions of this Declaration are translated into a binding commitment not only
+o proteet human rights but also those that work for the protection of these rights so that Uiey may
ae able to fulfill their important rote in the promotion, protection and defense of human rights and
cundameatal freedoms. :

1 this light, a law protecting humay’ rights defenders and penalizing any violations of their rights
‘n the pursuance of their advocacy tiust be immediately enacted.

For these reasons, the expeditious approval of this bill is earnestly urged.

Approved,

foe dco~—
TEDDY A. CASINO

Bayan Muna Party-List

Bayan MunalParty-List

\,

RAYM@ND V. PALATIN®
Anakpawis Party-List . Kabataan Party

A

4 t-
L LINDA C, ILAGAN EMMI A. DE JESUS
fabricla Women’s Pal a Gabriela Women’s Party

* ACT Teachers Party



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

5379

HOUSE BILL NO,

Introduced by Reps. NERI JAVIER COLMENARES, TEDDY A. CASINO,
RAFAEL V. MARIANO, RAYMOND V. PALATINO, LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN,
EMMI A. DE JESUS and ANTONIO L. TINIO

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF IN IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE 1998 U.N. DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITY OF
INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND ORGANS OF SOCIETY TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT
UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS OR OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
UN DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

TITLE I- GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the “HUMAN RIGHTS
DEFENDERS’ PROTECTION ACT OF 2011”,

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - — Consistent with the principles enshrined in the 1987
Constitution, the standards set by international humanitarian and human rights laws, and the
international laws and conventions adhered to by the Philippines, it is hereby declared a State
policy to promote and protect the rights of individuals engaged in the promotion and protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country.

This is so because the State recognizes the important role and the valuable work of
individuals, groups and associations in contributing to the effective elimination of all violations of
human sights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals, including in relation to mass,
flagrant or systematic violations such as those resulting from colonialism, foreign dominetion or
occupation, aggression or threats to national sovereignty, national unity or territorial inteurity and
from the refusal to recognize the right of peoples to self-determination and the right of every
people to exercise full sovereignty over its wealth and natural resources.


Likewise, the State is cognizant of the right and the responsibility of individuals, groups
and associations to promote respect for and foster knowledge of human rights and. fundamental
freedoms at the local and national teveis.

In this wise, the State therefore acknowledges its prime responsibility and duty to adopt
such steps as may be necessary to create all conditions as well as legal guarantees requires to
ensure that all individuals engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights under its
jurisdiction are able, individually and in association with others, to enjoy all their rights and
freedoms in practice.

SEC. 3. Definitions. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL — shall mean all persons cursently employed in goverament
whether elected or appointed, whether contractual, casual or permanent, including those
serving as consultants;

(b) GOVERNMENT UNIT — shall include all, but not be limited to, departments, bureaus,
offices, boards, commissions, courts, tribunals, councils or sanggunian, authorities,
administrations, centers including health centers, institutes, state colleges and universities,
government owned and controlled corporations, local government units which shall
inctude @ purok or sitio, governmental organizations, and any grouping of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police or other state security forces.
including a patrol of three military, police personnel, paramilitary or military assets as
defined herein, shall be considered a government unit;

(©) HEAD OF GOVERNMENT UNIT ~ shall mean the highest responsible officer of the
named government unit;

(a) HUMAN RIGHTS — any of the entitlements inherent to any individual, organization, or
state enumerated in the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Principles of the Philippine
Constitution, the rule on Habeas Corpus, the Rule on the Writ of Amparo, the Rules on the
Writ of Habeas Data, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Righ's and
International Humanitarian Law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Rome
Statute on the {ntemational Criminal Court and other similar or pertinent international
instruments or conventions;

fey HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER — any individual who is bona fide connected to any human
tights organization whose main or substantial work and advocacy is to promote the respect
for, foster knowledge of, and protect any forms of human rights and fundamental
freedoms;

(f) HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION — any non-government organization or association
which has as one of its main purposes the advocacy, enforcement, and defense of any
human right;


@)

«h)

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION — is any act committed by any government personnel
and/or unit, military affiliate, paramilitary, police and/or military asset, or any agent of the
state or an individual acting in its behalf, in violation of any human rights of any
individual, group or organization, registered or otherwise from which injury and damage 10
any individual, mental or physical, or property or reputation or privacy of any individual or
organization shall be occasioned;

SUPERIOR OFFICER — shall mean the next goverament official who has supervisory or
control powers over the head of the government unit to whom the said head reports and
shall include, but not limited to, the president, the department secretaries, the chief of staf
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the commanding general or rear admirals of any
service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the director general of the Philippinc
National Police;

SEC. 4. Presumptions and Prohibitions, —

a.) The following shalt be presumed under this Act:

(dy
Q

@)

(4)

(5)

‘A MISSION ORDER (MR) is a proof of being involved in a military operation.

A person held to account for a human rights violation is presumed to be a government
personnel, or a military affiliate, or a paramilitary, or a military asset when any
government personnel who is asked in his official capacity about the identity of the
former denies in general terms the designation, position and assignment of the same
without giving any information that will lead to the identification of the suspected human
rights violator.

Any act of false labeling or name calling a buman rights defender, or accusing him/her of
any offense, or any other kind of vilification, shall be presumed to be the uct of the
government personnel reported to have labeled, name called, accused or vilified the
human rights defender, if within three days from being notified of having made such act,
said government personnel does not make any public disclaimer of his reported labeling.
name calling or accusation.

Any act of surveillance against a human rights defender reported to the proper
government office shall be presumed to be an act of a government agent, if within three
days from being notified of such act, the government office to whom the act of
surveillance was reported does not identify the individual who is doing the act of
surveillance, and the latter’s designation, position or assignment.

Any act of threat and intimidation against a human rights defender through mobile
phone, Jand phone or the internet reported to the proper government office shall be
presumed to be an act of a government agent, if within three days from being notified of
such act, the government office does not identify the possible perpetrators of said act of
threat or intimidation.


(6) Any bonafide member of a human rights organization shall be presumed to be human
rights defenders within the meaning of this act.

(7) Any complaint for human rights violations is presumed to be true and valid, unless
proven otherwise. This presumption, however, does not include the criminal, civil or
administrative liability of the individual/s accused to have perpetrated the said human
rights violation, which liability shall be proven by evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
preponderance of evidence or substantial evidence, as the case may be.

(8) Any denial of any document or refusal to produce or present said document by the
government personnel or office or unit who has custody of the same when required to be
presented by any competent authority pursuant to any of the provisions of this Act shall
establish the allegation to which the said document is offered to prove.

'b.) The following shall not be applicable or cannot be invoked in any criminal, civil, and
administrative complaint for any violation of this Act:

1) Presumption of regularity in the performance of duty;

2) Presidential immunity from suit;

3) Confidentiality of any military activity, or that it is or affects national security interests,
if the issues raised are related to the work of human rights defenders; and

4) Executive Privilege as a defense .

TITLE I. RIGHTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

SEC. 8. Right to promote and protect human rights. - A human rights defender.
individually or in association with others, shall have the right to meet or assemble peacefully,
form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups, and to
communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations.

SEC. 6. Right to information about human rights. - He/she, individually and in
association with others, has the right to know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all
human rights and fundamental freedoms, including having access to information as to how those
rights and freedoms are given effect in domestic legislative, judicial or administrative systems,
freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all burnan
rights and fundamental freedoms, and to discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both
in law and in practice, of alt human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other
appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters.

SEC. 7. Right to develop and advocate human rights ideas, - He/she, individual:y and in
association with others, has the right to develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles
and to advocate their acceptance,

SEC. 8. Right to participate in public affairs. - He/she, individually and in association
with others, has the right to have effective access, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to participation in
the government and in the conduct of public affairs. This includes the right to submit to


governmental bodies and agencies and organizations concerned with public affairs criticism and
proposals for improving his/her functioning and to draw attention to any aspect of his/her work
that may hinder or impede the promotion, protection and defense of human rights and fur:damental
freedoms.

SEC. 9. Right to provide paralegal or legal assistance. - He/she, individually ans in
association with others, has the right to offer and provide professionally qualified paralegal or
legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and
fundamental freedomas.

SEC. 10. Right to unhindered access to communication with human rights bodies. -
He/she, individually and in association with others, has the right to unhindered access to and
communication with local, regional, national and international bodies with general or special
competence to receive and consider communications on matters of human rights and fundamental
freedoms.

SEC. 11. Rights against vilification. He/she, individually and in association with others.
has the right against any act of false labeling or name calling, or of malicious and abricated
accusations against hinvher of any offense, or from any other kind of vilification.

SEC, 12, Right to participate in activities against human rights violations - He!
individually and in association with others, has the right to participate in activities against
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

SEC. 13. Right to solicit, receive and utilize resources. - He/she, individually and in
association with others, has the right to solicit, receive and utilize resources for the express
purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful
means, in accordance with article 3 of the present United Nations Declaration on Humn Rights
Defenders.

Sec. 14, Right to establish a sanctuary to human rights victims and/or their families . —
He/she, individually and in association with others, has the right to establish sanctuaries for any
human rights violation victim and/or their immediate families.

Said sanctuary shall be considered established if and when he/she gives confiden:‘al notice
to the Commission on Human Rights that said place, building or area has been constituted as a
sanctuary, and as such, entry to the said place, building or area including an area of a radius of 100
meters around the said place, building or area shall be prohibited to any government personnel.
military asset, military affiliate, military unit, or paramilitary unit.

SEC. 15. Right (0 file an action invotving human rights violations — human rights
organizations or associations as complainants. He/she, individually and in association with
others, has the right to file a complaint or a petition for any violation of human rights violations.
However, the consent of the victim must first be obtained as much as possible. in the absence of
such consent, the human rights organization or association may proceed with filing the ccmplaint
or petition unless the lack or absence of consent is based on the threat to the life, liberty or security
of the victim or his or her family.


SEC. 16. Right to access documents of government units and personnel, paramilitary
units and personnel, and military affiliate and government assets. ~ He/she, individually and in
association with others, has the right to have effective access to all government docurnents that
pertain to any human rights defenders and/or ofganizations and/or his/hev/its/their activitics and
any document of such kind, including but not limited to an order of battle, shall nat be considered.
confidential nor classified or which partakes of executive privilege, or that which affects aational
security and said document/s shall be open to public scrutiny.

TITLE 3. OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT

SEC. 17, Obligations of the government. - The government shall have the following
obligations:

{a) To take all precautionary measures to ensure the protection of all human rights
defenders against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure, or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of their
legitimate exercise of their rights and duties as human rights defenders;

() To mandate all its officers and employees, under pain of administrative sanctions, not
to participate, by act or by failure to act where required, in violating human rights and
fundamental freedoms, and the heads of offices or superior officers not to subject any
individual who refuses to participate in acts which violate or will violate acts to protect,
defend, uphold, and foster human rights, to punishment or adverse action of any kind
for refusing to do so;

(©) To require Human Rights Education as an obligatory curriculum in the, primary and
secondary levels, with an actual week spent with a human rights defender in the
locality;

(d) To require Human Rights Education as a six-unit subject {three as a lecture course and
three as a laboratory subject, which may include 20 hours work with any human rights
organization in the tocality) in all colleges and universities;

(e) It shall also be the duty of any government personnel, unit, government asset,
paramilitary and military affiliate to put into writing any instructions, orders, cr
commands he or she or it issues to a subordinate ot received by him or her or it from a
higher officer including the head of the government unit and to document any action he
or she or it takes in response to said instruction, order or command including but not
limited to operation report, spot report, evaluation report and accomplishment report or
any report or documentation submitted to the commanding or superior ot higher officer
issuing said instruction, order or command and that a logbook or journal shall be
maintained listing all instructions, orders, commands, issued and/or received, and al)
responses to said instructions and all reports in compliance to sai¢ instructions. orders,
commands in the said book or journal in a day to day, month to month and yeer to year
order, and the said documents and logbooks and/or journals shall not disposed of
unless and until the Commission on Human Rights shall allow otherwise.


TITLE 4. REMEDIES TO ENFORCE THE RIGHTS

SEC. 18. Petition fo Access Government Documents. - A request for access to any
document that pertain to any human tights defender, defenders and/or organizations and. or
hivher/its/their activities and any docurnent of such kind, including but not limited to an order of
battle shall be made through a petition before the court in accordance with the Rules of Amparo
promulgated by the Supreme Court through AM No. 07-9-12 and/or Habeas Data likewise
promulgated by the Supreme Court.through AM No. 08-1-16.

The documents so requested may not be specified by its title, heading, as any description
by class, kind, nature or function is suficient for purposes of the petition and respondent must
deliver all documents as defined

‘The yovernment unit, pers@fnel, asset, paramilitary unit or personnel (and military
affiliate) shall, upon receipt of the order of the court, including the superior officers up to the level
ot the Chief of Staff, the Secretary‘of National Defense, and the Executive Secretary shall
immediately furnish the said document or require the concerned government unit, personnel, asset.
paramilitary unit or personnel (and military affiliate) to do so.

The documents can be inspected in chambers or executive session if the said documents
contain data and information that infringe on the privacy ot security of, or that which involves the
reputation of the petitioner or of anybody mentioned and included in the said document.

SEC. 19, Petition for Temporary Protection Order, - A request for a Temporary
Protection Order in favor of a human rights defender and against any government personnel and
units, paramilitary personnel and units, military assets (or military affiliates), shal! be made
through a petition before the Commission on Human Rights.

‘The Commission shall iminediately issue forthwith a Temporary Protection Order after a
petition shall be filed before it, and which can only be revoked after there is finding that said
petition is without any ground. However, a petitioner's well-grounded belief that he/she is under
threat because of his/her work as a human rights defender shal! constitute sufficient ground for a
Temporary Protection Order to be maintained and not revoked.

Furthermore, the Commission, mote propio or upon a complaint, may cite any government
personne! and units, paramilitary personnel and units, mititary assets, or military affiliates for
direct contempt for teftsing to abide by the Temporary Protection Order.

The Commission shall promulgate its Rules and Procedures covering the Petition for
Temporary Protection Order and the Complaint for Contempt above-described within thirty (30)
days from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 20. Motion to Dismiss Criminal Complaint — A buman rights defender can ask
theprosecutor or the court to dismiss a criminal complaint ot information filed against hinvher on
the ground that the said complaint/information is necessarily related to his/her work as such
human rights defender, or that the same is contravention of the letter and spirit of this Act.


The foregoing, however, shal) not bar the prosecutor or the judge from dismissing the
criminal complaint or information motu propio if and when he/she, by a mere reading of the
complaint/information and its supporting documents, finds the said complainv/information violates
the above-mentioned grounds.

In addition, he/she shalt dismiss the complaint/information outright if it is a prima facie
case of harassment. In this regard, a complaint/information is prima facie a harassment suit if the
complaining witnesses, or any other witness against the human rights worker, is a military. police
or any state security force which has been complained of by the human rights defender of
his/herfits organization, or the unit, any member thereof or the superior of such military, police or
state security force, or a rebel retunee or an alleged co-conspirator in a criminal act, or when the
due process rights of the human rights workers — statutory or constitutional - shall have been
violated. This section shall apply retroactively to existing cases against human rights defenders.

TITLES, PROTECTION OF WITNESSES OF VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT

SEC. 21. Protection of any informant under this Act. - Any individual who shall provide
information and/or testify in any proceedings about any violations of this Act committed by any
government personnel, government unit, government asset, paramilitary (and military affiliate)
shall have all the rights and protections provided in this Act and shall be considered for the
purpose of his/her protection and only for such information and/or testimony a human rights
defender.

SEC, 22, How any threat to a witness shall be considered. - Any act that shall threaven
‘or atlempt to threaten, harass or aftempt to harass in any manner any individual who shall testify
against a government personnel, government unit, government asset, paramilitary (and military
affiliate) in any proceedings under this Act shail be considered committed by the acts of the
government personnel, government unit, government asset, paramilitary (or military affiliate) to
whom the testimony is being made Against,

SEC. 23, Protection for government personnel, government asset, paramilitary (and
military affiliate) who provides evidence against any human rights violations. - No head of a
government uni€ or superior offiéer or higher officer (or handler of a military affiliate) may
discharge, demote, suspend, threaien, harass, sanction or in any manner discriminate against anv
government personnel because of any lawful uct done by the government personnel, governmen:
asset, paramilitary (and/or military affiliate) to provide information, cause information 10 he
provided, or initiate or otherwise assist in an investigation regarding any conduct which the
government personnel, government asset, paramilitary (and/or military affiliate) rvasonably
believes constitutes a violation of any provision prescribed in this Act.

TITLE 5. PENALTIES

SEC. 24, Penalty for violations of Sections 5 to 16 of this Act, - ‘The penalty ot prision
mayor in its maximum period to prision temporal in its medium period without privilege of parole
shall be imposed upon any government personnel or the whole complement of a government unit,


the paramilitary personnel or the whole cornplement of the paramilitary unit, the government assct
‘and/or the military affiliate) who violates any of the tights of a human rights defender defined in
Sections 5 to 16 of this Act.

SRC. 25. Penalty for destroying, altering, or falsifying records and document. - The
penalty of prision temporal in its minimum to its medium period or a fine of ONE HUNDRED
THOUSAND PESOS (Php 100,000.00) or both, at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed
upon any government personnel or the whole complement of a government unit, the paramilitary
personnel or the whole complement of the paramilitary unit, the government asset (and/or the
military affiliate) who impede, obstruct, or influence any preliminary investigation, administrative
investigation and/or petition by altering, destroying, mutilating, concealing, covering up,
falsifying, or making any false entties in any record, document, or specimen whereof, relative to
any matter involving any human rights defenders, defenders or organizations or activities

SEC.26. Penaity for any other violations of this Act. — The penalty of prision temporal in
its minimum period or a fine of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (Php100,000.00, or both,
at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed upon ay individual who violates any other
provisions of this Act.

SEC, 27, Violations of this Act as aggravating circumstances. - Any violations of any
provisions of this Act committed on the occasion of a commission of a crime defined in any penal
laws shall be considered an aggravating circumstance in the imposition of the penalty in said
crime.

SEC. 28. Non-applicability of the Probation Law Any violations of any provisions of
this Act which shall constitute the main crime or as an aggravating circumstance shall not entitle
the offender or the accused to the ptivileges of probation under the probation law.

TITLE 8. FINAL PROVISIONS:

SEC.29. Repeating Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders. rules and
regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act ae hercby
repeated, amended or modified accordingly

C. 0. Separability Cfause. — if any part or provision of this Act shali be held
unconstitutional or invalid, other pfovisions, which are not affected thereby, shall continve to be in
full force and effect. .

SEC. 31. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,