FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

A. EO 163 – EFFECTIVITY OF THE CREATION ON COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 CHR is a constitutional body because it is created by the Constitution.
 Can a former natural born Filipino citizen assume a position on the CHR?
- Yes. Because you cannot remove the fact that a person is natural born Filipino
citizen eventhough such person changed his citizenship. What is prohibited is dual-
citizenship.
 Read Art 13, Sec. 17, 18, 19 of the Phil Consti

SECTION 17. (1) There is hereby created an independent office called the Commission on
Human Rights.

(2) The Commission shall be composed of a Chairman and four Members who must be natural-
born citizens of the Philippines and a majority of whom shall be members of the Bar. The term
of office and other qualifications and disabilities of the Members of the Commission shall be
provided by law.

(3) Until this Commission is constituted, the existing Presidential Committee on Human Rights
shall continue to exercise its present functions and powers.

(4) The approved annual appropriations of the Commission shall be automatically and regularly
released.

SECTION 18. The Commission on Human Rights shall have the following powers and functions:

(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations
involving civil and political rights;

(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;

(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within
the Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and
legal aid services to the underprivileged whose human rights have been violated or need
protection;

(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;

(5) Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect
for the primacy of human rights;

(6) Recommend to the Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for
compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;

(7) Monitor the Philippine Government’s compliance with international treaty obligations on
human rights;
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any
investigation conducted by it or under its authority;

(9) Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of
its functions;

(10) Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and

(11) Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

SECTION 19. The Congress may provide for other cases of violations of human rights that
should fall within the authority of the Commission, taking into account its recommendations.

 FUNCTIONS OF CHR

1. Visitorial Power
2. Investigatory Power
3. Recommend measures to the Congress
4. Make sure of the implementation of human rights

B. EO 27 – EDUCATION TO MAXIMIZE RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

 GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT PROMOTES THE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN

RIGHTS

1. DEPED – It includes the study of Human Rights to the curricula on all levels of
school in the country.

 GOVERNMENT BODY THAT ASSIST IN PROMOTING THE KNOWLEDGE ON

HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Civil Service Commission – It includes human rights as one of the coverage in the
CSC examination.

C. RA 9745 – ANTI-TORTURE ACT

 What is torture?

- "Torture" refers to an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or

mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from
him/her or a third person information or a confession; punishing him/her for an act
he/she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed; or
intimidating or coercing him/her or a third person; or for any reason based on
discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the
instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in authority or agent of
a person in authority. It does not include pain or Buffering arising only from, inherent
in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

 Examples of Acts of Torture

(a) Physical torture is a form of treatment or punishment inflicted by a person in authority or

agent of a person in authority upon another in his/her custody that causes severe pain,
exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body, such as:
(1) Systematic beating, headbanging, punching, kicking, striking with truncheon or rifle
butt or other similar objects, and jumping on the stomach;
(2) Food deprivation or forcible feeding with spoiled food, animal or human excreta and
other stuff or substances not normally eaten;
(3) Electric shock;
(4) Cigarette burning; burning by electrically heated rods, hot oil, acid; by the rubbing of
pepper or other chemical substances on mucous membranes, or acids or spices directly
on the wound(s);
(5) The submersion of the head in water or water polluted with excrement, urine, vomit
and/or blood until the brink of suffocation;
(6) Being tied or forced to assume fixed and stressful bodily position;
(7) Rape and sexual abuse, including the insertion of foreign objects into the sex organ
or rectum, or electrical torture of the genitals;
(8) Mutilation or amputation of the essential parts of the body such as the genitalia, ear,
tongue, etc.;
9) Dental torture or the forced extraction of the teeth;
(10) Pulling out of fingernails;
(11) Harmful exposure to the elements such as sunlight and extreme cold;
(12) The use of plastic bag and other materials placed over the head to the point of
asphyxiation;
(13) The use of psychoactive drugs to change the perception, memory. alertness or will
of a person, such as:
(i) The administration or drugs to induce confession and/or reduce mental
competency; or
(ii) The use of drugs to induce extreme pain or certain symptoms of a disease;
and
(14) Other analogous acts of physical torture; and

(b) "Mental/Psychological Torture" refers to acts committed by a person in authority or agent of

a person in authority which are calculated to affect or confuse the mind and/or undermine a
person's dignity and morale, such as:
(1) Blindfolding;
(2) Threatening a person(s) or his/fher relative(s) with bodily harm, execution or other
wrongful acts;
(3) Confinement in solitary cells or secret detention places;
(4) Prolonged interrogation;
(5) Preparing a prisoner for a "show trial", public display or public humiliation of a
detainee or prisoner;
(6) Causing unscheduled transfer of a person deprived of liberty from one place to
another, the belief that he/she shall be summarily executed;
(7) Maltreating a member/s of a person's family;
(8) Causing the torture sessions to be witnessed by the person's family, relatives or any
third party;
(9) Denial of sleep/rest;
(10) Shame infliction such as stripping the person naked, parading him/her in public
places, shaving the victim's head or putting marks on his/her body against his/her will;
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

(11) Deliberately prohibiting the victim to communicate with any member of his/her
family; and
(12) Other analogous acts of mental/psychological torture.

 Read Sec. 8 – Applicability of Exclusionary Rule

- Any confession, admission or statement obtained as a result of torture shall be
inadmissible in evidence in any proceedings, except if the same is used as evidence
against a person or persons accused of committing torture.

 Read Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
 Art. 7 of Convention against Torture

1. The State Party in the territory under whose jurisdiction a person alleged to have
committed any offence referred to in article 4 is found shall in the cases contemplated in
article 5, if it does not extradite him, submit the case to its competent authorities for the
purpose of prosecution.
2. These authorities shall take their decision in the same manner as in the case of any
ordinary offence of a serious nature under the law of that State. In the cases referred to
in article 5, paragraph 2, the standards of evidence required for prosecution and
conviction shall in no way be less stringent than those which apply in the cases referred
to in article 5, paragraph 1.
3. Any person regarding whom proceedings are brought in connection with any of the
offences referred to in article 4 shall be guaranteed fair treatment at all stages of the
proceedings.

D. RA 10368 – REPARATION AND RECOGNITION OF VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

VIOLATIONS DURING MARCOS REGIME

E. RA 10353 – DEFINING AND PENALIZING ENFORCED OF INVOLUNTARY

DISAPPEARANCES
 It prohibits solidary confinement and secret detention.
 Read Sec. 3 – Definition

(a) Agents of the State refer to persons who, by direct provision of the law, popular
election or appointment by competent authority, shall take part in the performance of
public functions in the government, or shall perform in the government or in any of its
branches public duties as an employee, agent or subordinate official, of any rank or
class.

(b) Enforced or involuntary disappearance refers to the arrest, detention, abduction or

any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or
groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State,
followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the
fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such person outside the
protection of the law.
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

(c) Order of Battle refers to a document made by the military, police or any law
enforcement agency of the government, listing the names of persons and organizations
that it perceives to be enemies of the State and which it considers as legitimate targets
as combatants that it could deal with, through the use of means allowed by domestic and
international law.

(d) Victim refers to the disappeared person and any individual who has suffered harm as
a direct result of an enforced or involuntary disappearance as defined in letter (b) of this
Section.

 Section 4. Nonderogability of the Right Against Enforced or Involuntary

Disappearance. –The right against enforced or involuntary disappearance and the
fundamental safeguards for its prevention shall not be suspended under any
circumstance including political instability, threat of war, state of war or other public
emergencies.
 Section 5. "Order of Battle" or Any Order of Similar Nature, Not Legal Ground, for
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. – An "Order of Battle" or any order of similar
nature, official or otherwise, from a superior officer or a public authority causing the
commission of enforced or involuntary disappearance is unlawful and cannot be invoked
as a justifying or exempting circumstance. Any person receiving such an order shall
have the right to disobey it.
 Accompanying Rights:

1. Right to immunity
2. Right to communication
3. Right against secret detention places
4. Right against being isolated
5. Right to have access to family, lawyers
6. Right to be visited by CHR

 Who are the persons committing involuntary disappearance?

a. Agents of the state

b. Those who act with authorization by the state

 Effect of involuntary disappearance: The person who is missing is beyond the protection
and his life is in danger because his whereabouts are unknown.
 The CHR is the one who inspect detention places.
 If the person is unknown, he cannot exercise the right against involuntary
disappearance.
 It is the duty of the citizenry to report suspected involuntary disappearance.
 This law refers to the right to immunity in UDHR.

F. RA 7438 – RIGHTS OF PERSONS ARRESTED, DETAINED or UNDER CUSTODIAL

INVESTIGATION
 The right involved is MIRANDA rights.
 Extra-judicial confession is a confession made outside the court.
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

 Extra-judicial confession must be in writing and must be done in the presence of the
counsel.
 Definition of custodial investigation.

G. RA 9372 – HUMAN SECURITIES ACT

H. RA 9208 – ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 Acts of Human Trafficking
- It involves the recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transportation,
transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons, with or without the victim’s
consent or knowledge, within or across national borders;
 Means/Modes of Human Trafficking
- It is committed by use of threat, or of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction,
fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability
of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person;
 Purpose of Human Trafficking
- It is done for the purpose of exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of
sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, involuntary servitude or the
removal or sale of organs.
 The consent of the victim will not condone human trafficking.
 Qualified Human Trafficking

(a) When the trafficked person is a child;

(b) When the adoption is effected through Republic Act No. 8043, otherwise known as the
"Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995" and said adoption is for the purpose of prostitution,
pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt
bondage;

(c) When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale. Trafficking is deemed
committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or
confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if committed against
three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group;

(d) When the offender is an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a person who exercises
authority over the trafficked person or when the offense is committed by a public officer or
employee;

(e) When the trafficked person is recruited to engage in prostitution with any member of the
military or law enforcement agencies;

(f) When the offender is a member of the military or law enforcement agencies; and
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

(g) When by reason or on occasion of the act of trafficking in persons, the offended party
dies, becomes insane, suffers mutilation or is afflicted with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

I. CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)
 It is a treaty.
 Women are considered the weaker beings based on tradition.
 Coverage
1. Promotion of Human Rights and the general view that there should be no
discrimination based on sex.
2. Political and Public Life Representation, Employment, Health, Economic and Social
Benefits, Education
3. Equality on Marriage and Family Life
 BASIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES:
1. UDHR
2. ICCPR
3. ICESCR
 Read VAWCI – This is important because men are superior over women.

J. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (CRC)

 Definition of a child (Art. 1) - a child means every human being below the age of
eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
 Read Art. 7, 8, 9
 Read RA 9344 and RA 19630 – Juvenile Justice System
- Core provision: specify the age in criminal responsibility
- Children who are 15 yrs old or under at the time of the commission of the crime are
exempted from criminal responsibility, but not civil liability. But they will undergo
intervention program.
- If a child is more than 15 yrs old, the court will determine if the child has acted with
discernment.
- If a child who is above 15 but below 18 acted with discernment,he will be taken on
Bahay Pag-asa.
- If a child is below 15, he will be released from the police but he will undergo an
intervention program which is under the management of the LGU.
- Minimum age to be admitted in Bahay Pag-asa: 12 years old
- If below 12 years old, the child will be send back to the parents.

 How are Human Rights enforced?

- It is enforced through a system of legislation and penalties.
- Critical part: Human rights laws are not really observed because there is no official
office that implement such international commitment.
- Best way to implement international laws of human rights is to translate these to local
laws.
- If a person violates international laws, there is no body that has authority to penalize
such person.
- Best way is to observe is to allow membered states to implement international
policies.
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

K. OPTION PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD ON

THE INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

 Child in conflict with war

- A person who is 18 years of age may be recruited on joining the military.
- Each country has a binding legislation that the minimum agae is below 18 years old.
- If below 18, there must be consent from the parents and the child in order to join in
the military. It must be voluntary and the child must be informed of his duties and
responsibilities in the military.
- Armed groups who are taking up arms must also abide and must not recruit children
who are below 18.

L. CONVENTION ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS

 Definition of a migrant worker - "migrant worker" refers to a person who is to be
engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which
he or she is not a national.
 Exceptions to the term migrant workers (Art. 3)
(a) Persons sent or employed by international organizations and agencies or persons sent or
employed by a State outside its territory to perform official functions, whose admission and
status are regulated by general international law or by specific international agreements or
conventions;
(b) Persons sent or employed by a State or on its behalf outside its territory who participate in
development programmes and other co-operation programmes, whose admission and status
are regulated by agreement with the State of employment and who, in accordance with that
agreement, are not considered migrant workers;
(c) Persons taking up residence in a State different from their State of origin as investors;
(d) Refugees and stateless persons, unless such application is provided for in the relevant
national legislation of, or international instruments in force for, the State Party concerned;
(e) Students and trainees;
(f) Seafarers and workers on an offshore installation who have not been admitted to take up
residence and engage in a remunerated activity in the State of employment.
 Read Art. 45, 47
 Migrant workers must enjoy the same rights with the local citizens of a certain state.
 It shows equality between the migrant workers and local citizens.
 When a migrant worker delivers a child abroad, she has the same right to register her
child and be qualified as a citizen of the state. It is based on the rules followed by the
state (jus solis or jus sanguinis).
 Migrant workers has the right to transfer their savings and earning to their country.

M. Read the ff. cases:

1. Carino v Commission on Human Rights, GR No. 96681, Dec. 2, 1991
2. People of the Phil v Casio, GR No. 211465, Dec. 3, 2014
N. Read the reports
 FINALS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

1. WON voluntary sale of organs should be legalized.

2. WON Euthanasia should be legalized.
3. WON adoption of children by same-sex partners should be legalized.
4. WON freedom of speech approves hate speech.