FILE PHOTO: DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines —The Philippine government is taking efforts to strengthen human rights mechanisms in the country, said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
Remulla emphasized this development in a meeting with United Nations (UN) Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland.
Remulla noted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has decongested jails and released last month 371 inmates who had served their sentences.
He added that the DOJ will pursue such releases and take steps to strengthen the witness protection program.
Remulla further highlighted that the country will continue to work “constructively on human rights with the UN and international community.”
Al-Nashif, on the other hand, acknowledged the efforts by the Philippines to respond to issues such as “enhancing accountability, engagement with the UN, and human rights-based approach to drug control.”
Remulla is in Geneva to attend the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Philippines in the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday. He will likewise lead the Philippine delegation to the revalida on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on October 10 to 11.
Earlier, the International Criminal Court launched a probe into the bloody war on drugs of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte and on its supposed human rights violations.