The Commission on Human Rights is an independent office created under the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, with the primary function of investigating all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights in the Philippines.[2]
The Commission is composed of a Chairperson and four members. Commissioners hold a term of office of seven years without reappointment. The Philippine Constitution requires that a majority of the Commission’s members must be lawyers.
As a National Human Rights Institution, the Commission enjoys Status A[3] accreditation by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
History[edit]
After the ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on 2 February 1987, which provides for the establishment of a Commission on Human Rights, President Corazon Aquino, signed Executive Order No. 163 on 5 May 1987, creating the Commission on Human Rights and abolished the Presidential Committee on Human Rights. The Commission was created as an independent office mandated to investigate complaints of human rights violations, promote the protection of, respect for and the enhancements of the people's human rights including civil and political rights.
Core Mandates and Functions[edit]
The Commission derives its mandates from the Constitution, relevant domestic laws, and the eight core International Human Rights Instruments to which the Philippines is a State Party, as well as other United Nations Human Rights Conventions newly enforced.
Under Section 18, Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution, the Commission's sole duty is to protect the civil and political rights of citizens in the Philippines.
Based on the Philippine Constitution, the Commission has a broad mandate, which can be categorized into three major functional areas:
Human Rights Protection - Investigation and case management of complaints of violations, including all the powers and services in aid of investigation, of civil and political rights as well as economic, social, and cultural rights. Such powers and services include: citing for contempt for violations of its rules of procedure; legal aid and counseling; visitorial powers over jails and detention facilities; application of forensic techniques in aid of investigation; witness protection; and, financial assistance to victims[4]
Human Rights Promotion, which includes the wide range of strategies for policy, advocacy, promotion, social mobilization, education, training, public information, communication, research, networking and linkages[4]
Human Rights Policy Advisory derived from monitoring government’s compliance with the treaty obligations that the Philippines has acceded to: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention Against Torture and Other Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention Against Racial Discrimination (CERD), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families (CMW); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This also includes the entire aspect of monitoring and evaluating the performance of the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary to translate international human rights standards into national policies, laws, and practice.[4]
The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in Cariņo v. Commission on Human Rights, 204 SCRA 483 (1991), declared that the Commission did not possess the power of adjudication, and emphasized that its functions were primarily investigatory.[5]
The Commission on Human Rights have the following powers and functions:
Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights
Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court
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 under-privileged whose human rights have been violated or need protection
Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities
Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for the primacy of human rights
Recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;
Monitor the Philippine Government's compliance with international treaty obligations on human rights
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;
Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of its functions
Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law
Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law[6]