Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

47L

House Bill No.

Introduced by AKBAYAN Party-List Representatives
Hon. Kaka Bag-ao and Hon. Walden Bello

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines is one of the original signatories of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) and is currently distinguished as an advocate of human rights within the Asian
community of nations having signed/ratified/acceded to twenty-three (23) international
covenants and treaties on human rights under the United Nations. Yet, despite this advocacy
that started more than half a century ago, the right to development and to adequate food
continues to elude more than 40% of the population, most of who reside in the upland and
coastal villages of the rural countryside and congested slums of the cities.

The tragic inability of the government to improve the lives of the poor over the past
three decades has largely resulted in a continuing history of social and political unrest. Today,
this unrest manifests in various armed resistance movements that either seek to overthrow the
government or secede from its system of rule, exemplified by ongoing hostilities with
communist rebels.

In the congested city slums, the harsh and cruel environment of perennial poverty and
hunger has driven many of its residents to more extreme measures of survival by defying the
laws in a culture of crime and violence. Millions of Filipinos, unable to look for employment or
better paying jobs, leave their families to seek greener pastures abroad. Their remittances
average more than $6 billion annually, but many of them come home in coffins because of the
inability of the government to assure their protection against injustice through effective labor
agreements.

While the Constitution mandates that the State value the dignity of every human person
and guarantee full respect for human rights, this sacred principle, anchored on international
precepts, has not been translated into effective laws, ordinances and implementing rules that
ensure the full protection of the Filipino citizen against abuse of authority among law enforcers.

The current Philippine literature on human rights is a product of the continuing battle of
ideas in the realization of human dignity and social justice. Unfortunately, many of these ideas
have remained at the level of treaties and Constitutional policies. Those that have translated
into enabling acts and local ordinances by and large remain at the level of theory without the
benefit of effective enforcement.

With the increasing social demands of a fast growing population, local government units
constantly face the dangers of popular unrest and increased criminality without sufficient safety
nets and a human rights-based law enforcement system. Likewise, due to lack of consensus in
the interpretation of individual rights, especially among the poor women and children, law
enforcement in this regard has been erratic and ineffective.


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There is an urgent need to put the promotion and protection of human rights at the
core of the implementation of the criminal justice system, local legislation and governance, the
enforcement of laws, and the maintenance of peace and order which are all fundamental
ingredients in the building of long-lasting peace. We have to dovetail the present efforts
towards the promotion and protection of human rights. There must be concrete local
institutions that will reflect and carry out the lofty human rights provisions that the country, as
a matter of national policy, adhere to.

While the Commission on Human Rights is mandated to address the enforcement of
human rights precepts in the making and enforcement of law, the Commission and its 16
regional chapters are hardly in a position to reach out to the 80 provinces, 1,496 municipalities,
138 cities and 42,025 barangays in the country. To achieve the desired integration, therefore,
Human Rights Resource Centers must be set up in the provinces.

Immediate passage of this bill is sought.

ne

Hon. WALDEN BELLO
Representative, Akbayan Party-list


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

471

House Bill No, __"

Introduced by AKBAYAN Party-List Representatives
Hon. Kaka Bag-ao and Hon. Walden Bello

AN ACT
TO STRENGTHEN PHILIPPINE COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTION AND
PROTECTION BY ESTABLISHING HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCE CENTERS
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Human Rights Resource Center
Act of 2007".

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ \t shall be the policy of the State to promote social
justice in all phases of national development as it values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights. It shall articulate the twenty-three (23) international
covenants and treaties on human rights, to which it is a signatory and has ratified in its national
and local laws. ,

It shall also be the policy of the State to give priority to education among the youth to
foster patriotism and nationalism that shall promote their total liberation and development as a
human being.

SECTION 3. The Human Rights Resource Centers. — Human rights resource centers,
hereinafter referred to as the HR Resource Centers, are hereby established throughout the
country to integrate the promotion and protection of human rights in the implementation of the
criminal justice system, in the conduct of local governance and in local law enforcement. These
centers shall be the repository of all human rights concerns at the provincial level.

The HR Resource Centers shall be attached to the Office of the Governor but the
planning, policy-making and implementation shall be done with transparency and
accountability. However, the Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the
Office of the Provincial Prosecutor, the Office of the Provincial Commander of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) and the Office of the Provincial Director of the Philippine National Police
(PNP) shall collaborate and coordinate in ensuring the effective operation of the HR Resource
Centers including, but not limited to, the mobilization of resources and the provision of
technical support.

At the operational level, the HR Resource Centers shall be headed by a volunteer lawyer
from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines with support staff composed of volunteers from
students of law schools who are rendering peralegal services as part of their curriculum


requirements, people's organizations and nongovernment organizations (POs and NGOs,
respectively) with credibility in the locality and independent of the local government.

SECTION 4. Functions of the HR Resource Centers. — The HR Resource Centers shall
have the following functions:

(a) Set up a library of international covenants and treaties to which the Philippines is a
signatory, has acceded to and/or has ratified;

(b) Provide the necessary resource persons, literary and other educational materials to persons
or group of persons who advocate and work for a continuing program of education that
enhances respect for the primacy of human rights;

(c) Monitor compliance with international treaty obligations and national legislation on human
rights for the purpose of ensuring the proper enforcement of laws and observance of
international obligatians at the local level;

(d) Coordinate with various government agencies involved in the promotion and protection of
various aspects of human rights, as well as with the Presidential Committee on Human
Rights;

(e) Coordinate with barangay, municipal and provincial human rights officers, desks or
committees, as the case may be, and with the Regional Office of the CHR on issues arising
from violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people,
particularly those of women and children, for purposes of referring or endorsing the same
through an appropriate mechanism to the proper government agencies for appropriate
action and immediate resolution;

(f) Take an active part in efforts aimed at promoting peace and development in the area and
serve as the convergence point for these efforts at the local level;

(g) Recommend the enactment of necessary Iccal legislation that will protect and promote
human rights in the province; and

(h) Participate in the development planning and budgeting process of the local government unit
concerned using the principles of rights-based development wherein development plans for
the locality come from the citizens who are targeted to be the direct beneficiaries of the
plans rather than the government imposing the plans on the citizens.

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The CHR, in consultation,
coordination and collaboration with the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, the AFP, the
PNP, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and humian rights NGOs and POs duly recognized and
accredited by the government, shall prepare the implementing rules and regulations necessary
to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 6. E&ffectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
at least two newspapers of national circulation.

APPROVED,