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After the ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on February 2, 1987, which
Aquino, signed Executive Order No. 163 on May 5, 1987, creating the Commission on
Human Rights and abolished the Presidential Committee on Human Rights. The Commission
violations, promote the protection of, respect for and the enhancements of the people's human
aimed at promoting and ensuring the protection and respect of human rights in the
Philippines. As such, it has the competency to investigate alleged violations of human rights
by referral or based on its own discretion. This description will limit itself to describing the
procedure in case of a complaint being filed. The Commission does not possess adjudicative
power, but it has the right to make recommendations and resolve conflicts through mediation
and conciliation.
b. Conduct fact-finding missions, visits and/or inspections of the site where the
threatened;
c. Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all
families.
Any concerned individual or group may file a complaint for human rights
violations before the Commission, particularly the victim, his / her relatives, non-government
a fictitious name shall not be disregarded outright. If upon such initial evaluation or verification
or on the basis of the information or details provided in the anonymous complaint, it appears to
be meritorious or has some factual basis, the Commission shall proceed to investigate the matter.
protected human rights can be found in the Philippines Bill of Rights.Complaints are required to
be made in writingand may be in the form of a letter, affadavit, question and answer statement,
pleading or similar form. Upon the filing of a written complaint, the complainant shall be
required to accomplish CHR Form 9 – Complaint Sheet and execute a sworn statement, with the
assistance of a duty investigator or legal officer. In cases of abuse of children’s rights, the
complainant shall also accomplish pertinent sections of “CHR Form 10 – Complaints Form for
Complaints can be submitted to the Commission, to the Barangay Human Rights Action
Center, through a Commissioner or any of the regional or sub-offices, nearest to the place where
After the complaint has been submitted, preliminary evaluation of the complaint is
performed to determine whether the matters fall within the jurisdiction of the Commission. This
At this stage, the Commission may opt to call upon the parties for a preliminary
If, following the preliminary evaluation, it is deemed that the case falls within the scope
of the Commission, an investigation follows. The CHR Regional Offices have the primary duty
to conduct such an investigation, with the Commission having the right to take over the
investigation. The investigation may involve conferences or dialogue with and responses to the
complaint from the parties involved. In the absence of such cooperation, the investigation can
report, progress reports, the legal basis for the investigation, profile of the victim and respondent,
the allegations, a list of witnesses, summary of evidence, all relevant data, specific provisions
The final evaluation of the case and preparation of the resolution shall be made within 15
days from the submission of the final investigation report, together with all the evidence gathered
in the course of the investigation and/or dialogue. A final resolution is prepared by a legal
officer, subject to review and approval by the Regional Director. It consists of the facts of the
case, evidence, issues involved, a conclusion of whether there is a human rights violation and of
The Office may provide alternative dispute resolution of cases through mediation and
conciliation. However, mediation and conciliation are not available in cases of serious violations,
such as child abuse, domestic violence, torture, or when the two parties do not agree to submit
their case to the process. In any other cases, the Commission may use these measures as a first
course of action before the initial investigation, or at any stage of the investigation, upon the
court and are involving the same parties and the same issue.
All records of cases shall remain confidential until the resolution of the case shall have
become final.
C. OUTCOME
appropriate legal or legislative action, or grant of financial assistance), reports, declarations and
advises. These are not legally binding for the companies. Press releases by the Commission can
be used to pressure the companies into complying with the recommendations. It can also resort to
into writing and signed by the parties, with the assistance of a mediator or conciliator.
The rights of Filipinos can be found in Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Also called the Bill of Rights, it includes 22 sections which declare a Filipino citizen’s rights and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR).
As one of the signatories of these legal documents, the Philippines is obliged to recognize
This is not always the case, however, as the Philippine Constitution lacks explicit laws to
For example, the Right to Adequate Food may be included in the UNDR but it is not
explicitly indicated in the Philippine Constitution. Thus the government cannot be held
“deprivation of life without full judicial and legal process, and with the
agents.” The terms also include “death through the excessive use of force by
paramilitary groups, death squads or other private forces cooperating with the
In the Philippines, the term “extrajudicial killings” does not have a clear
definition. In Secretary v. Manalo, the Supreme Court, citing the Rule on the Writ
of Amparo, opined that extralegal killings are “killings committed without due
the latter case of Razon Jr. v. Tagitis revealed that the drafters of Amparo rule
decided to “do away with [the] clear textual definition of [extrajudicial killings].”
Despite this, the Court recognized in Razon, Jr. that “extrajudicial killings and
security.”
or identified to be so.”16 It further stated that the victim was targeted by either
kill.
crime via summary execution and public hanging. Duterte’s public appearances
him apart from his opponents in the political establishment and even earned him the
endearing pet name “uncle Digong Duterte”. Richard Heydarian, political science
corruption. Most alarming (but perhaps alluring to some) was Duterte’s post-election
promise to the nation’s criminals: “I do not want to commit a crime but if by chance,
God will place me there, you all better watch out. I’ll dump all of you into Manila
Bay, and fatten all the fish there”. His speeches made after his Presidential
inauguration on June 30th only intensified fears between neighbors, and often
encouraged citizens to kill suspected drug users or pushers on the spot. In one
profanity-filled speech to a crowd in the slums of Tondo, Mr. Duterte calmly explains
“if you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents
to do it would be too painful”. In fact, the vast majority of summary executions have
been performed by vigilantes, and on the streets of Manila lay corpses with placards
Extrajudicial Killings, Agnes Callamard, affirmed that Mr. Duterte had issued a
United Nations. As political tensions mounted and the death toll reached close to two
thousand, a Senate Committee was formed by Leila de Lima, a former Head of the
claims he witnessed Duterte order, and even carry out, extrajudicial punishment.
While this was news to the world, this was not news to most Filipinos, who have
heard Duterte publicly boast about his participation in a Death Squad: “They are
Shortly after these events were brought to light, de Lima was replaced by
Richard Gordon as Chair of the Senate probe because her investigation had
apparently compromised the country’s reputation. Pundits claim that de Lima, now
entangled in an alleged drug smuggling and sex scandal, was the last major
opposition to Duterte’s government. After a near six thousand reported dead at the
hands of the drug war, and close to 700,000 thousand drug users surrendering to
authorities, Duterte still boasts an eighty-six percent approval rating. Miguel Syjuco,
award winning Filipino novelist, explains that the killings have not yet shocked the
conscience of most Filipinos because extrajudicial killings are construed as the only
across all areas of government. The state uses fear to justify strong-arm policies that
they claim will solve crime; policies that have historically only worked to sustain
current tactics and Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are not difficult to draw
when the former threatens to reinstate Martial Law, shut down Congress, and
assassinate journalists. In recent years, Filipinos saw former President (now mayor of
Manila) Joseph Estrada pardoned by his successor Gloria Arroyo after allegedly
plundering more than 80 million dollars. Duterte has already carved himself a space
to make an exception for himself and his auxiliaries for their involvement in the drug
extrajudicial killings are a clear derogation of the rule of law are not controversial on
any basic definition of the rule of law. My aims for the following parts of the paper
are to identify which aspects of the rule of law are hindered by extrajudicial killings,
and to elucidate a process for cultivating a rule of law society that addresses these
hindrances. I argue that this crucially depends on two mandates that tie together: i)
holding the government accountable to their obligations under the rule of law, and ii)
There is no meaningful notion of civic participation, and no need for human rights
education if the rule of law is purely rhetorical or symbolic tool for political
maneuvering, rather than a society building principle that citizens can meaningfully
engage with in practice. The next part of the paper will address this point head-on by
developing a working concept of the rule of law that opens room for discussions on
the role and power of citizens. Finding the means for addressing the difficulties with
bringing citizens into meaningful contact with the state, either because of state
coercion, poverty, or lack of information, are solutions that give greater meaning to
“One in four people experience a mental health episode in their lifetime, but the
office, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Wellcome Trust, a charitable
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress related disorder that
may develop after exposure to an event or ordeal in which death, severe physical harm or
violence occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include
abuse or the aftermath of an event can lead to the development of PTSD. People who
suffer include military troops who served in wars; rescue workers for catastrophes like
the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.; survivors of the
Oklahoma City bombing; survivors of accidents, rape, physical or sexual abuse or other
crimes; immigrants fleeing violence in their countries; survivors of earthquakes, floods,
and hurricanes; and those who witness traumatic events. Family members of victims can
PTSD affects about 8 million American adults, and can occur at any age,
including childhood. Women are more likely to develop the disorder than men, and there
Roughly 30 percent of Vietnam veterans developed PTSD. The disorder also has
been detected in as many as 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, about
For veterans, factors related to combat may further increase risk for PTSD and
other mental health problems. These include the veteran's role in the war, the politics
around the war, where it's fought, and the type of enemy faced. Another cause of PTSD
in the military is military sexual trauma (MST) or sexual harassment or assault that
occurs in the military. MST can happen to men and women and can occur during
peacetime, training, or war. Among veterans using VA health care, about 23 percent of
women reported sexual assault while in the military, 55 percent of women and 38 percent
month, the condition may be called acute stress disorder. PTSD is diagnosed when the
stress symptoms following exposure have persisted for over a month. Delayed expression
of PTSD can occur if symptoms arise six months or more following the onset of trauma.
A. CAUSES
The cause of PTSD is unknown, but psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors
are involved. PTSD changes the body's response to stress. It affects the stress hormones and
chemicals that carry information between the nerves (neurotransmitters). Prior exposure to
trauma in the past may increase the risk of PTSD due to re-experience of trauma. People who
have suffered childhood abuse or other previous traumatic experiences are likely to develop the
disorder, sometimes months or years after the trauma. Temperamental variables such as
externalizing behaviors, or other anxiety issues may also increase risk. Other environmental risk
factors include family dysfunction, childhood adversity, cultural variables, family history of
psychiatric illness. The greater the magnitude of the trauma, the greater the risk for PTSD—
mechanisms, lack of social support or family instability or financial instability may further
worsen outcomes.
Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder. Some of
these resilience factors are present before the trauma and others become important during and
after a traumatic event. Resilience factors that may reduce the risk of PTSD include seeking out
support from other people, such as mental health professionals, friends and family, finding a
support group after a traumatic event, feeling good about one's own actions in the face of danger,
having a coping strategy, or a way of getting through the bad event and learning from it, and
B. TREATMENT
If you are diagnosed with PTSD, your doctor will likely prescribe a combination of
therapies, including:
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or “talk therapy,” to encourage you to remember the traumatic
event and to express your feelings about it. This can help desensitize you to the trauma and
Support groups, where you can discuss your feelings with other people who have PTSD. This
will help you realize that your symptoms are not unusual and that you’re not alone.
Medications, such antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids, to decrease the
frequency of intrusive and frightening thoughts and to help you get some rest. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration has approved two antidepressants for the specific treatment of
Many people who suffer from PTSD turn to illicit drugs and alcohol to cope with their
symptoms. While these methods may temporarily alleviate your symptoms of PTSD, they don’t
treat the underlying cause of stress. They can even make some symptoms worse. If you have
trouble with substance abuse, your therapist may also recommend a 12-step program to reduce