HUMAN RIGHTS LAW B

CASE STUDY Na ional Mechani m fo H man Righ P omo ion and P o ec ion In i ion
INSTITUTION Depa men of Heal h

MEMBERS
A ega Abi hag
Cor e Ian Mico
Ga a Ellaine
Rod lfo Pia
S ero S efi Monika

The World Health Organization Constitution WHO states the highest attainable standard of health as a
fundamental right of every human being 1 Understanding health as a human right creates a legal obligation on
states to ensure access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality as well as to
providing for the underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable water, sanitation, food, housing,
health related information and education, and gender equality A rights based approach to health requires that
health policy and programmes must prioritize the needs of those furthest behind first towards greater equity, a
principle that has been echoed in the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Universal
Health Coverage 2

In the Philippines, the Department of Health DOH is the chief principal health agency and the overall
technical authority on health Its key purpose is to afford basic public health services to all Filipinos through the
facilitation of quality health care and supervision of health providers In pursuant of this mandate, the DOH
must provide national policy direction and develop national plans, technical standards and guidelines on health
By and large, the goal of the DOH is to lead the country in the development of a productive, resilient, equitable
and people centered health system

Essentially, the DOH has three specific roles in the health sector:
1 leadership in health,
2 enabler and capacity builder and
3 administrator of specific services namely, national and sub national health facilities and hospitals
serving as referral centers, direct services for emergent health concerns requiring complicated
technologies and assessed as critical for public welfare and health emergency response services, referral
and networking systems for trauma, injuries, catastrophic events, epidemics and other widespread
public danger 3

These roles and responsibilities of the DOH in the promotion, protection and fulfillment of human rights in
the country are strengthened by no less than the 1987 Constitution, specifically Article II, Section 15 which

1
Constitution of the World Health Organization, 1946, https: www who int governance eb who constitution en pdf
2
World Health Organization, Human Rights and Health, December 29, 2017,
https: www who int news room fact sheets detail human rights and health
3
Id
declares that The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them Also, Articles XIII, on Social Justice and Human Rights on Health, declares that it
is the responsibility of the State to adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development
which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at
affordable cost There shall be priority for the needs of the under privileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and
children The State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers Section12 establish and maintain
an effective food and drug regulatory system and undertake appropriate health, manpower development, and
research, responsive to the country s health needs and problems Section 12 and establish a special agency for
disabled person for their rehabilitation, self development, and self reliance, and their integration into the
mainstream of society Section 13

Role in he Promo ion Pro ec ion and F lfillmen of H man Righ

The right to health is undoubtedly interrelated and interdependent to other human rights, most especially the
right to quality life With respect to the right to health, it is without a doubt that the young and the vulnerable
suffer immensely In this respect, the DOH can promote the fulfillment of human rights by way of ensuring
access to timely, adequate, and affordable health care programs such as sanitation, food, and housing Given the
present case, the DOH may perform the following task:
● Providing the children shelter in a safe, secure, and humane environment, which their parents clearly
deprived them of
● Supplying nutritious food and clean water with the aim of restoring them back to health
● Granting free medical check up and supplying essential medicine to treat any disease that they may
have acquired
● Offering psychological assistance and therapy in order to reduce the immense trauma suffered by the
children

Children s needs and security have always been at the forefront of DOH s health agenda In 1997, the DOH
enacted Administrative Order 1 B , otherwise known as the Establishment of a Women and Children
Protection Unit in All Department of Health DOH Hospitals This act was decreed in order to address the
mounting cases of women and children who experience rape, sexual violence, incest, and other related cases
April and May, as victims of cyber trafficking and sextortion, may well benefit from this regulation4

Furthermore, the DOH has promulgated Administrative Order 34 A s2000 or the the Adolescent and Youth
Health Policy This ordinance is more specialized as it aims to focus on the pressing issues of the adolescents
which are the 10 19 years old In particular, this AO recognizes the vulnerability of the youth to infectious
diseases, sexual exploitation, and mental health concerns5

The President has also enacted Executive Order No 53, entitled Strengthening the Committee for the Special
Protection of Children In particular, this regulation established a Committee comprising of various

4
Republic of the Philippines, Department of Health,Kagawaran ng Kalusugan,
https: www doh gov ph women and children protection program
5
​Id.
department secretaries, including the DOH, with the goal of cooperating and coordinating with other agencies
in order to ensure legal protection to children in prostitution, children trafficked, neglected children6

Weakne e and Lap e in Addre ing H man Righ Viola ion

On a global scale, sexual abuse, including sexual assault or rape, of children and adolescents, is a major global
public health problem, a violation of human rights, and has many health consequences in the short and long
term 7 According to the guidelines released by the World Health Organization, children subjected to sexual
abuse is strongly recommended to undergo various treatments In their guidelines, they highlighted the
following practices:
a Providing Child or Adolescent Centered Care First line Support
b Medical History, Physical Examination, and Documentation of Findings
c HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis Treatment and Adherence
d Pregnancy Prevention and Management among girls who have been sexually abused
e Post exposure Prophylaxis for curable and Vaccine Preventable Sexually Transmitted infections
f Psychological and Mental Health Interventions in the short term and long term
g Ethical Principle and human rights standards for reporting Child or adolescnet sexual abuse 8

Nevertheless, given this course of action recommended by the WHO, the current system is unable to adequately
provide for a holistic response needed by these children First, the Local Council for the 9Protection of
Children LCPC is the primary local structure that formulates policies and implements child protection
programs in cities, municipalities and barangays However, many local government units have no LCPC or non
functional 10

Second, For orphans, abandoned kids, out of school youth, street children, Person with Disabilities PWDs ,
abused and pregnant women under the custody of the DSWD, their PhilHealth are usually sponsored by the
local government, government agency or private individual or agency 11 However, as pointed out, not all LGUs
fully support projects or funds catered to these problems

Third, not all regions, provinces, or barangays have adequate medical equipment or personnel to address these
problems 12 It is noted that laws are in place to support these type of human violations but coverage, facilities
and implementation needs to be improved to properly cater to these children

6
Official Gazette, Executive Order No 53, s 2011,
https: www officialgazette gov ph 2011 08 11 executive order no 53 s 2011
7
World Health Organization, Responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually
abused,https: www who int reproductivehealth publications violence clinical response csa en
8
Id
9
Council for the Welfare of Children and UNICEF, National Baseline Study on Violence against Children:
Philippines, https: www unicef org philippines media 491 file
10
Id
11
Imoney, PhilHealth: Universal Health Coverage For All Filipinos Updated ,
https: www imoney ph articles everything about philhealth contribution philippines
12
Department of Health, The Philippine Health System at a Glance,
https: www doh gov ph sites default files basic page chapter one pdf
Challenge and Compe ing In ere in Re ol ing H man Righ Ab e

Indeed, competing interests in the health sector can become serious challenges to human rights Conflicts
between and among stakeholders and their interests act as a powerful barrier to health services, and hampers the
delivery of health services, and contributes to poor quality care

One of these competing interests is the national government priority on the public order and safety sector over
the health sector From fiscal year 2015 to 2020, the budget allocation in the national budget for national
agencies related to defense and enforcement of public order is more than the budget of agencies concerned with
health services In 2015, 144 5 billion pesos was allocated to the Department of Defense while only 109 5 billion
pesos was disbursed to the Department of Health 13 In 2017, the public order and safety sector received 174 2
billion pesos compared to the health sector with only 153 6 billion pesos 14 The Philippine National Police
alone was given in 2019 with 173 5 billion pesos which is more than the sum allocated to National Health
Insurance Programs, Health Facilities Enhancement Program, and Purchase of drugs, medicines, and vaccines
for government facilities with 67 4, 15 9 and 15 4 billion pesos respectively 15 And in 2020, the Department of
National Defense was allotted with 192 1 billion pesos and 187 3 billion pesos for the Phlippine National Police
while only 175 9 billion pesos was allocated to the Department of Health 16

Moreover, policies and programs of the government give more emphasis to decreasing crime than addressing
health issues For example, the current War on Drugs of the administration focuses on fighting crime and drugs
through anti drug operations by the means of police force but failing to resolve the issue causing such problems
such as the underlying social and health issues This type of policy done little to reduce drug use but instead has
human rights consequences namely: undermining the rights to health and privacy serving as an excuse for
torture, extrajudicial killings and grossly disproportionate punishment 17 The government also often failed to
recognize the effects of the crimes to the victims in terms of their rehabilitation and integration back to society

There are health problems seen in victims of human trafficking that are often disregarded by the government
Several factors are the deprivation of food and sleep, stress caused by their circumstance and violence which may
be physical and sexual The problems reach an advanced stage usually because of their lack of access to health
care 18

13
Department of Budget and Management, People s Budget 2015,
https: www dbm gov ph wp content uploads Our 20Budget 2015 People 27s 20Budget 202015 pdf
14
Department of Budget and Management, 2017 People s Budget,
https: www dbm gov ph wp content uploads Our 20Budget 2017 2017People 27s 20Budget pdf
15
Department of Budget and Management, 2019 People s Budget,
https: www dbm gov ph images pdffiles 2019 People 27s Budget Quick Glance English Version pdf
16
Department of Budget and Management, 2020 People s Budget
https: www dbm gov ph images pdffiles 2020 Quick Glance FINAL v1 pdf
17
Human Rights Watch, Philippine La maker Declare Ab i e Dr g War Fail re,
https: www hrw org news 2017 02 07 philippine lawmaker declares abusive drug war failure
18
Human Trafficking: The Role of the Health Care Provider, 2011,
https: www ncbi nlm nih gov pmc articles PMC3125713
Government should provide serious health care to trafficked persons by providing health services, regardless of
the ability to pay or willingness to participate in a criminal action against traffickers This help should be
extended even if they lack the necessary resources 19

Another problem is the confusion in which Department should face the problem One doctor who treats
trafficking survivors at a government hospital said that The way that the Department of Health is acting is that
they really look at child trafficking, child abuse, as not a health problem They really look at it as a problem
mainly belonging to the hands of either the Department of Social Welfare or the Department of Justice He
added that when the child abuse center was made hospital based, it was only then that the Department of
Health recognized that it does not involve just social welfare and justice but a health problem 20

In the extant case of April and May, specifically, the priority was to prosecute Jake and Helen, however, after
achieving such a result, the government disregarded the effect of the sexual trafficking to the well being of the
victims By not providing accessible and quality health services such as counselling, therapy and health
examination to the victims resulted in a violation of their human rights

In addition, an opposing interest in the healthcare system of the country that challenges human rights is where
one side delivers healthcare service for the promotion of health while the other is driven by profit This problem
arises primarily because of the market oriented approach to health, making healthcare services inaccessible to the
marginalized and vulnerable groups in the society The right to the highest attainable standard of health as
stated in the World Health Organiation Constitution implies a clear set of legal obligations on states to ensure
appropriate conditions for the enjoyment of health for all people without discrimination Recognizing the right
to health as a human right ensures that states give access to its population timely, acceptable, and affordable
health care of appropriate quality

On the whole, applying this in the context of human rights law, the case study has highlighted the devastating
consequences on child abuse, specifically physical violence, emotional distress, sexual exploitation, and overall
neglect on development We recognize that there are a lot of inconsistencies in the way that the national
government and interlocal departments are handling the present situation Moving forward, the State, together
with the diverse agencies and bureaus, must act now and take urgent measures to ensure that no one is left
behind especially, the children and the most vulnerable

19
Understanding and addressing violence against women,
https: apps who int iris bitstream handle 10665 77394 WHO RHR 12 42 eng pdf
20
Sex trafficking and health care in Metro Manila: Identifying social determinants to inform an effective health system
response, 2013
https: www hhrjournal org 2013 08 sex trafficking and health care in metro manila identifying social determinants to
inform an effective health system response fbclid IwAR19jCMBVjfilPRdegZajGLJR3T MNoFgnQHfixZKR71chBJ
Rm52RqaMQ7E