Breaking Impunity: Justice, Human Rights, and Accountability

By Romina “Beng” D. Sta.Clara, EPJUST National Human Rights Key Expert

For the DOLE-ILO Workshop on the Freedom of Association, Civil Liberties, Labour
Laws and the Issue of Impunity, 13-14 December 2010, Davao City

<<Presentation of “Nasaan si Tatay?” - EPJUST public service ad/PSA>>

Introduction
I have worked with the trade union-labour movement in the 90s, and I am
disheartened to see that less than 2 million Filipinos are unionized in this day and
age of social networking and netizens’ activism.

As seen in the 30-second PSA, to address impunity, we have to break our silence. It
is critical for us to ask and make social institutions work for the ends of justice and
truth.

EU-Philippines Justice Support Program (EPJUST) is an example of a collaborative

response and cooperative undertaking involving both duty-holders and rights-
holders. It is a product of the finance (bilateral) agreement (FA) between the
Philippine government and the European Union, which was signed in October 2009
and will end in April 2011. The cooperation has three tracks – technical assistance
(i.e. mobilization of long-term and visiting experts to provide technical advice and
training to criminal justice system actors, uniformed services, CHR, and CSOs),
grants to civil society organizations/CSO, and supplies (i.e. computers and forensic
kits for CHR and PNP). All components will have to contribute to the overall
objective of “assist[ing] Philippine society to put an end to extralegal killings (aka
extrajudicial killings) and enforced disappearances through technical assistance and
capacity building”. (Please see the flyers for more details.)

Framework
I am not going to bore you with the repetition of numerous recommendations made
by the UNSR Philip Alston, or by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (CER, 2008), and the UN Committee against Torture (CAT, 2009) on
the killings and disappearances in this country. I would like to highlight though our
shared goals of ending human rights violations, and establishing individual
responsibility and State responsibility, either by acts of commission or omission. All
duty-holders have varying responsibilities - from the time an incident of human rights
violation happens until the execution of the judgment issued by a competent court.
And all rights-holders claiming their rights must be afforded respect and protection by
State institutions and their agents.

Potential Areas of Convergence and Continuity

“The Philippines, as a signatory to most of the major international human
rights treaties and instruments, must live up to its commitments…” –
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 2

President Benigno S. Aquino III, speech at the 62nd Anniversary of the

UDHR, 10 December 2010, Heroes Hall, Malacañan Palace

Right to Know the TRUTH. During the ILO-HLM in 2009, the Philippine government
then provided information on the killings of 39 trade unionists, but claimed only 13
cases are labor-related. Let us remember that the ILO Report on Case No.2528
(KMU complaint in 2006) issued in 2007, which included the request for a HLM,
involved 64 killings of trade unionists. The research of the Families of Victims of
Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) noted that workers ranked number 2 (255
reported cases) across sectors (first is peasants) affected by disappearances from
the Marcos Dictatorship up to the early months of the new administration. The issue
here is not the numbers of incidents or victims. To paraphrase UNSR Alston, one
extrajudicial killing or enforced disappearance is too many for a democracy. The
revitalization of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) to monitor cases
affecting trade unionists can be linked to the national monitoring mechanism
envisaged by the EPJUST FA. A national monitoring mechanism is an obligation
under the Convention on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance
(CED), which comes into force on 23 December 2010. EPJUST commissioned
studies emphasized the need for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and a
wide-range of CSOs (especially the grassroots) be involved in any monitoring
mechanism to be truly inclusive and effective. We suggest that information on
reports on and monitoring of cases on killings and disappearances be shared
publicly and coordinated between and among TIPC, CHR and CSOs. Note that DOJ
A.O. 841 (2007) required monthly status reports on EJKs; and AO 163 (2006)
amending the composition and tasks of the Presidential Human Rights Committee
(PHRC) include the preparation and submission of annual reports on human rights.
Nevertheless, no such report either from the DOJ or PHRC has been made public
since those edicts were in place. In the meantime, EPJUST has shared CSOs’
monitoring reports with CHR, and a web portal dubbed as the Philippine Human
Rights Network (PHRN) is under construction that will facilitate reporting of incidents
of human rights violations including EJKs and EDs to a wider audience. A discussion
with other donors and CSO partners to sustain the PHRN post-EPJUST is ongoing.
A meeting, a declaration or a conference will not make a national mechanism. The
logistical requirements including sustainability issues pertinent to any monitoring
mechanism have to be discussed by all relevant stakeholders.

Right to Justice. Under the UNGA Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a
Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human
Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law
(A/Res/60/147), recognized that victimization may be directed against an individual
or a group of persons who are targeted collectively. Thus, duty holders (State
authorities especially) have the obligation to investigate all reported or alleged
violations promptly, thoroughly and impartially and, where appropriate, take action
against those allegedly responsible in accordance with domestic and international
law. And irrespective who committed the violation (State or Non-State), victims and
witnesses must be protected from further harm or violence, and afforded equal and
effective access to justice, both judicial and indigenous or restorative means. For the
criminal justice system actors, we have supported the PNP to improve its police work
(from case reviews of Task Force Usig files to forensics training), and the orientation
of police investigators and DOJ prosecutors on AO 181 and DOJ MC 4 – to push
cold cases and the wheels of justice a bit faster. For the victims, the EPJUST CSO
grantees are providing legal and psychosocial assistance for different sectors and
covering different geographic areas, and they include workers and their families. We
 3

have developed as well, in collaboration with the Center for Trade Union and Human
Rights (CTUHR) and other regional CSOs, a human rights defenders handbook
detailing basic human rights and legal rights in Philippine context. This handbook
will come out in 3 languages (Filipino, Cebuano and English) and can be
reproduced or further translated into other languages to reach more Filipinos.
The DOLE and ILO can also consider supporting the regional training (e.g.
training of trainers) on the HR defenders handbook.

Right to Reparation. The Philippines had a “Victims Compensation Act” since 1992,
and there are pending bills in Congress regarding the compensation of Martial Law
victims. There is more to reparation than passing a law. As we have seen in many
countries who had Truth and Justice Commissions, or transitioned from dictatorships
to democracies, reparations included among others: commemoration and tributes
to victims (e.g. Bantayog ng mga Bayani), public apology (e.g. Timor-Leste
government apologized to its citizens for failing to protect their women from
mass rape), restoration of employment or livelihood and property (e.g. in
Nepal, thousands have been internally displaced during the armed conflict, and
a national reparations program supported by the international community is
now underway). The corporate social responsibility of the private sector can be
harnessed to support local reparations efforts.

Guarantee of non-recurrence. Considering the Philippines’ past – colonial and

dictatorship eras, we have to: protect all HR defenders and recognize that dissent is
part and parcel of any self-proclaimed democratic nation; review and reform our laws
and practices that contravene our international treaty obligations (e.g. DOLE’s
deputization of the police and military in assumption orders); continue education of
the uniformed services (AFP and PNP) on the universality and indivisibility of human
rights and international humanitarian law principles – and emphasize that the
Philippines is not at war, and it is no longer a crime to express opinions, and form
associations since 1987.

To be inspired, I invite you to visit the EPJUST website, www.epjust.org, to access

the commissioned studies cited and see the photo and video documentation of our
public forums on national human rights monitoring, transitional justice, witness
protection, human rights and armed conflicts, and security orientation for human
rights defenders among other themes.

More open discussions, underscoring of civilian authority, and constant reminder on

who is truly the boss – the toiling Filipino citizens, will hopefully lead us to a just,
liberating and humane society.

This document has been produced with the assistance of the European Union.
The content of this document is the sole responsibility of EPJUST and can in no
way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
 EPJUST NMM Report, June 2010
Goal: Eradication of Extra-Legal Killings and Enforced Disappearances and an end to impunity for such crimes

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Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria

MONITORING
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24 Floor • Citibank Tower • Valero Street, Salcedo Village • Makati City. 1220 • Philippines
* Tel: +63.2.848.12.60 to**63 • Fax: 63.2.403.6992 • E-mail: info@epjust.org Website: www.epjust.org
Medical, moral and monetary; Especially
ext. 414vulnerable groups, incl. women, children, youth, elderly,• indigenous persons, IDPs, etc.