Marcos forms human rights 'super body'

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has established the Special Committee on Human Rights Coordination to "further champion human rights protection" in the country, Malacañang said.

In Administrative Order 22, dated 8 May which Malacañang only made public on Sunday, Marcos established the "super body" whose mission is to "enhance the mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines."

The organization, which reports to the Presidential Human Rights Committee, is in charge of upholding the UNJP's human rights initiatives in the fields of criminal justice, law enforcement, and policy-making. 

To carry out the October 2020 UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on capacity-building and technical cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, the three-year UNJP was created.

“It is imperative to sustain and enhance the accomplishments under the UNJP, which is set to expire on 31 July 2024, through institutionalization of a robust multi-stakeholder process for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines,” Marcos said.

The chiefs of the departments of foreign affairs, interior, and local government make up the committee, which is chaired by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and co-chaired by Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla.

Strengthening human rights investigation and accountability, collecting information on purported human rights breaches by law enforcement, civic space and private sector engagement, national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up, and human rights-based approaches to drug control and counterterrorism are among the tasks assigned to the special body. 

The committee is also mandated to support and streamline the work being done by relevant government agencies and make it easier for victims of human rights violations to access avenues for redress. 

Additionally, it aims to guarantee that laws and programs protecting the human rights of people detained are implemented effectively. This includes making sure that no one is tortured or subjected to any cruelty or inhumane treatment or punishment. 

The special committee's member agencies' present budgetary allotments will provide the funding needed for the order's initial execution.

Marcos' strategy differs significantly from that of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration, according to United Nations experts in an official communication to the Philippine government in December 2019, "spawned a broader trend of so-called 'red-tagging' of human rights defenders, journalists, rural communities, and legitimate organizations perceived as threats or enemies of the State."