SENATE MAPS OUT MEASURES TO ANSWER HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights this week approved several bills on human rights, which seek to address the escalating cases and grievances on extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero, committee chairman said the committee has approved for the plenary Senate Bills No. 7 (An Act Penalizing the Commission of Acts of Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Or Other Punishments), No. 429 (An Act Creating A Commission On Missing Persons), No. 264 (An Act Defining And Penalizing Enforced Or Involuntary Disappearance and for Other Purposes) and No. 39 (An Act Penalizing The Commission Of Acts and Torture).

Escudero said the above bills have been given priorities because of the gravity of human rights abuses in the country. "We need these bills enacted into law immediately to address and arrest extra-judicial killings and involuntary disappearances which have now become major problems of this country."

As chairman of the committee, Escudero enumerated salient features, which the aforementioned bills will yield. Among them is the creation of the Commission of the Disappeared, which will be put under the chairmanship of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Escudero said the commission will be the repository of data that would extensively accepts, provides, compares and updates data on missing persons.

Escudero said all law enforcement agencies would be mandated to provide an inventory of all detention facilities in the country once the bills are enacted. "It will now be illegal for any law enforcement agencies to keep safe houses and detention facilities outside of the official list."

The Commission On Human Rights (CHR) will also be granted visitorial powers to all detention facilities all over the country to monitor the state of the said facilities and its occupants. In addition to the CHR's empowerment, any arrests made by any of the law enforcement agencies should be reported to the CHR within 48 hours. At present, there is no required maximum number of hours for arrested persons to stay in police or military custody.

Recognizing basic difficulties in extracting information from the police and military, Escudero said included in the provision of the human rights bills the committee approved is the feature that requires all camp commanders to answer in writing any inquiries about people detained in their camps. "We take from the difficulties encountered by Mrs. Edith Burgos while locating her son Jonas. No one seems to want to entertain inquiries from our police and military camps. With this provision, whether the answer is in the affirmative or negative, all camp commanders are duty-bound to reply formally.'

The committee is also strengthening the legal provisions of the writ of habeas data, which will require the military and other government agents to release information about the disappeared but also correct or destroy erroneous data gathered or stored against them.

Escudero said his committee is working doubly hard to get the justice machine grinding in order to arrest the vicious cycle of violence. "There is already a general feeling of let down in our people about the impunities in our country. We want to show them that we at the senate are doing our job for these to be arrested and not to happen anymore."