Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. LYN RILLON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Amid continued criticisms over its alleged brutal war on drugs, the Philippine government has started drafting a human rights action plan that would be implemented in the next five years.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano reported this in his opening statement during the 3rd cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland last May 8.
Cayetano led the Philippine delegation to the UNHRC to present the country’s human rights record under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
READ: PH delegation faced UN human rights reviewers
He said that in line with the administration’s commitment to uphold the rule of law and protect the human right of all Filipinos, the government was in the process of drafting a five-year human rights plan that would adopt “a culture-sensitive perspective, gender-sensitive paradigm, and human rights-based approach in public service.”
“The plan seeks to mainstream the government’s human rights agenda in its development initiatives to protect all, especially the most vulnerable sectors, including but not limited to, the indigenous people, children, women, migrant workers, the elderly, domestic workers, persons with disabilities, farmers, laborers, and members of the LGBT community,” Cayetano, a staunch administration ally, said in a statement released by his office on Wednesday.
In 2012, he said, the Aquino administration also crafted a Human Rights Plan.
The senator also highlighted the Duterte administration’s effort to augment the budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) from P439 million to P724 million. This year’s budget of the CHR, he said, was the highest since 2005.
“The provision of additional resources for CHR, the President’s most outspoken critic, shows that this administration supports human rights programs and initiatives,” Cayetano said.
He said the issuance of an Executive Order institutionalizing the Freedom of Information in the executive branch as well as the installation of a direct complaint hotline – 8888 – to the Office of the President were “clear proofs that President Rodrigo Duterte is for accountability in government.”
The senator also noted the government’s efforts in encouraging private sector participation in ensuring a “more effective and sustainable rehabilitation and reintegration program for self-confessed drug users and pushers who surrendered.”
“The Philippine Government under President Duterte is committed to real change, to peace and development and to addressing the problems of poverty and inequality,” Cayetano said.
“We are committed to Change. We are committed to the rule of Law. We are committed to upholding human rights,” he added. CBB