HUMAN RIGHTS
IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. What are
human rights?
• norms that aim to protect people from political,
legal, and social abuses (
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
• Human rights can also be classified under
individual, collective, civil, political, economic and
social, and cultural.
• The United Nations (UN) defines human rights as
universal and inalienable, interdependent and
indivisible, and equal and non-discriminatory.
• Universal and inalienable:
Human rights belong to all and cannot be taken
away unless specific situations call for it. However,
the deprivation of a person's right is subject to due
process.
Interdependent and indivisible:
Whatever happens to even one right –
fulfillment or violation – can directly affect
the others.
Equal and non-discriminatory:
Human rights protect all people regardless of
race, nationality, gender, religion, and political
leaning, among others. They should be respected
without prejudice.
2. What laws or legal
documents ensure
the human rights of
Filipino citizens?
• The rights of Filipinos can be found in Article
III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Also
called the Bill of Rights, it includes 22 sections
which declare a Filipino citizen’s rights and
privileges that the Constitution has to protect,
no matter what.
Aside from various local laws, human rights in the
Philippines are also guided by the UN's International
Bill of Human Rights – a consolidation of 3 legal
documents including:
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR);
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and;
• International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR).
3. Who oversees the
fulfillment and
protection of human
rights in the
Philippines?
Human rights are both rights and obligations,
according to the UN. The state – or the
government – is obliged to “respect,
protect, and fulfill” these rights.
Respect begets commitment from state that no law
should be made to interfere or curtail the fulfillment of
the stated human rights. Protecting means that human
rights violations should be prevented and if they exist,
immediate action should be made.
Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
- an independent body which ensures the protection of
human rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
- Aside from investigations, it also provides assistance
and legal measures for the protection of human
rights guided by Section 18 Article XIII of the
Philippine Constitution.
4. Do criminals
or those who
break the law
still enjoy
human rights?
Criminals or those in conflict with the law are still
protected by rights as indicated in many legal
documents such as the Philippines’ Criminal Code and
UN’s
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
.
Specific human rights, however, may be removed,
provided they go through due process beforehand.
“no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law nor shall any person be
denied the equal protection of the laws.“ (Article 3
Section 1)
“the State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.“ (Article 2
Section 19)
“no cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment against a
prisoner or detainee…” (Article 3 Section 19)
Miranda Rights
- protect a criminal defendant's privilege against self-incrimination
from the pressures arising during custodial investigation by the police.
The Miranda doctrine requires that:
(a) any person under custodial investigation has the right to remain
silent;
(b) anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of
law;
(c) he has the right to talk to an attorney before being questioned and
to have his counsel present when being questioned;
(d) if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided before any
questioning if he so desires.
5. Status of
human rights in
the Philippines
Human rights violations –
extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced
disappearances, and human trafficking, among
others – some of the problems that the
Philippines faces according to Human Rights
Watch.
“We live in a democratic
society that we take for
granted our freedoms…”
“We have failed to realize that
human rights include a broad
range of entitlements, not just
political and civil rights.”
“We should be educated about
all the other aspects of human
rights in our society. As a
human being, what are you
entitled to?”
Thank you! ^_^
