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ly DJ Yap rights and freedoms of people proving the measure/ mau, was based on the United human rights organizations, Forst, the UN special raPPorteur
pde9i9y4ryq,. working to advance the cause of "It is hieh time that we ac- Nations Declaration on Human many of whom have taken him on the situation of human rights I

human rights. cord stronger legal /Protection Rights Defenders andthe Model to task for his administration'l defenders, calletl on the Philip- |

r an unlikely victory for rights to those who defenil not only National Law on the Recogni- bloody war on drugs, which has pine government tp "end imme- I

roups-and desPite President
)uterte's public disdain for hu-
mn rights workers-the House
f Representatives unanimous-
approved on third and tinal
'teading on Monday a bill
Pro-
ecting human rights advocates
rom attacks.
Voting 183-0, the chamber
rassed House Bill No.9199, or
he proposed "Human Rights
)efenders Protection Law,"
vhich wgutd guarantee the
To counter impunity
The bill, a cqnsolidated ver-
sion of fwo measures filed by
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and
the Makabayan bloc, mandates
the government to "respect,
protect and fulfill" the free-
doms of human rights defend-
ers, and imposes sanctions to
"counter impunity"'
Lagman, who sponsored the
bill on second reading last
week, lauded the House for aP-
their own human rights and
fundamental freedoms but
those of others as well," he said
in a statement.
Once signed iuto law, the bill
will create a "Human Rights De-
fenders Protection Committee"
to be chaired by a commissioner
of the Commission on Human
Rights and six members who
will be joirtly nominatqdbY civ-
il society organizations.
The bill, according. to Lag-
tion and Protection of Human .laimed thousands of lives.
Rights Defenders drafted bY the Karapatan Alliance for the
for Hu- 'Advancement of People's Rights
International Service
man Rights. said 697 human dghts defenders
had been kitled since 2oqr. while
of
Difficult and deadly Task Force Detainees theL
The work of human. rights PNiippines documented 76 hu-]
advocates in the countrY has be- mar rights viotations affecting
tome more difficult and deadty 333 rights workers tuom Septem-
since Mr. Duterte took office in ber 2013 to September 2016.
2016, according to riShts groups. In the recent World Report
In his public sieeches, the on the Situation of Human
President has verbally attacked Rights Defenders, Michael
diately alt forms of violations
against human rights defend-
ers, including exhajudicial
killings and enforced disaP-
|
pearances.
Forst urged the government
to "cease immediately the pub-
Iic stigmatization of human
rights defenders, which can in-
cite perpetrators to act against
them, and instead to publicly
recognize the legitimacy and
inportance of their work." INQ

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