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Rights advocates: Noynoy faces tough task vs human rights abuses


President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III is faced with the “daunting" task of addressing human rights issues left by the previous administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, human rights advocates said on Thursday. “The past administration didn’t leave a good record as far as human rights is concerned, so the new administration is facing a daunting set of challenges on the issue on human rights," said Ibarra Gutierrez III, director of the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights. Speaking at a forum in Quezon City, Gutierrez said some of these challenges include extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances and even the “less visible" forms of human rights violations, such as the neglect of the rights of persons with disabilities. Gutierrez said that Arroyo’s administration was “very passive" in addressing these human rights violations, and that Aquino needs to be more “aggressive" in solving them, especially extrajudicial killings. “The government must be seen doing something… We have to see a kind of seriousness from government to actually go after people who commit these violations," he said. The lawyer suggested that the Aquino administration focus on “more effective" investigation and prosecution of human rights violations. “The government needs to respond more effectively to violations of human rights through speedier resolution of cases and increased convictions… If not, nobody will be held accountable for these human rights violations," he said. ‘Guarded optimism’ Gutierrez likewise said in the forum that the prospects for human rights in the Aquino administration seem to be “optimistic." “Based on the actions this government has been taking in the past weeks, the prospects seem to be that of guarded optimism. The question is how it will implement the agendas it has set regarding human rights," he said. The lawyer particularly lauded the appointment of former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila De Lima as secretary of the Department of Justice. CHR Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing, meanwhile, said that the military has been “saying the right things" regarding human rights issues in the past weeks, although results have yet to be seen. “So far, they get 10 points in public relations. They are saying all the right things. The question is: Are there going to be actual results?" she said in the same forum. She added that she hopes that the Aquino administration pushes through with its plan to invite Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to be based in the country. Quisumbing likewise appealed to the new presidency to challenge the police and the military to be more cooperative in investigations on human rights violations. “The government must make sure that the little power we [the CHR] have will be strengthened. Tell the military and the police that they have to provide all information and records that we need for the investigation of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings," she said. Prospective new CHR chief Loretta Rosales, for her part, said that the legislature also needs to pass more laws to protect human rights, such as the Freedom of Information Act. “What we need is a paradigm shift for transformative governance anchored on a human rights perspective," Rosales said.—JV, GMANews.TV

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