By RONALYN V. OLEA
“They [members of the international community] know that the Philippine government has not lived up to its commitment to completely eliminate extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture.” – Fr. Jonash Joyohoy of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and co-head of delegation of the Philippine UPR Watch
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“The whole world knows of the failure of the Aquino government to bring to justice human rights violators like Gen. Jovito Palparan and of the horrendous, less than one percent conviction rate of perpetrators of political killings on top of the snail-paced justice system.” – Fr. Rex RB. Reyes, NCCP
In a statement sent to Bulatlat, the Philippine UPR Watch said Ermita consumed the time of the whole session and left the Committee members with little time to ask more searching and probing questions even after being reminded, a couple of times, to shorten its report. “It was pretty obvious to the Philippine and international NGOs that the Philippine delegation was just “dribbling” the time away to avoid being put to task for its general and high-falluting replies spruced up with cute acronyms that – in the words of another Committee member – have “nothing on the practical side” and have no value on the ground,” the group said.
Let the Stones Cry Out: The Continuing Search for Justice Published by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) 188 pages Let the Stones Cry Out: The Continuing Search for Justice not only depicts the darkness engulfing the nation but also chronicles the efforts of Christian churches and other human rights advocates in…
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 The 44-man team led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who also chairs the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), to present the Philippine National Report (PNR) on the country’s human rights record before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in…
“The Philippine National Report is significant not for what it says but for what it does not say. It is a selective, one-sided, self-serving account of the Philippine government’s so-called achievements and best practices in fulfilling its human rights obligations. It is a brazen attempt to hide the truth and evade accountability for the Arroyo…
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 A new coalition formed to observe the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) deliberation on the Philippines is calling for the termination or suspension of the country’s membership in the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). At the very least,…