Page 16 - SEPTEMBER 2017 B ISSUE

16 www.hello-philippines.com
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AN official of the Department of Duterte administration’s war on
Interior and Local Government on drugs due to the high number of drug
Thursday urged Commission on Human
Rights chairperson Chito Gascon to
resign from his post “to save the CHR as
an independent institution.”
DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco
Densing III said Gascon was using CHR
to propagate the interest of the Liberal
Party, which is one of the reasons why
the House of Representatives voted
to give only a P1,000 budget to the
commission for 2018.
“Chairman Chito Gascon should
resign as chair of the CHR if only to save mercy of politics,” he said.
the CHR as an independent institution,”
Densing told GMA News Online.
“Because in my perspective, since
the start of the Duterte administration,
he has been using the institution to
propagate information that are not
necessarily true and promotes their
advocacy to bring down the presidency.”
The CHR has been critical of the budget for 2018] dahil hindi niya
Ex-CHR chair Rosales: Reducing the
budget to P1K an insult to Filipinos
FORMER Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) chairperson Etta Rosales
on Thursday slammed the decision of
the House of Representatives to reduce
the budget of the agency to P1,000.
“That act of the House of
Representatives, whether or not Mr.
Duterte is directly responsible, is an
insult to the Filipino people. Insulto ito rights,” Rosales said.
sa mamamayang Pilipino sapagkat ang
Commission of Human Rights ay isang
constitutional office para ipagtanggol
ang karapatang pantao,” Rosales said at
a press conference.
“The 1,000 budget is a way
to neutralize and to reduce the
Commission on Human Rights,”
Rosales added.
Voting 119 to 32, the House reduced
the CHR’s 2018 budget from P678-
million to P1,000.
Checks And balances. Meanwhile,
Rosales also hit President Rodrigo
IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS
suspects—among them minors—killed
in police operations.
Gascon had earlier said he could not
resign from his post as it would only
weaken the CHR.
“Under this set of circumstances,
where the Congress would respond to
an independent constitutional office in
this way, to threaten it with a reduction
of its budget on the pretext of asking
me to resign would lead to essentially
making the institution forever [at] the
Sleeping on the job? Densing also
accused Gascon of not doing his job,
noting the CHR’s alleged inaction on
his months-long request for evidence
on the cases of human rights violations.
“We have to be straightforward,
mag-resign siya if he wants to save
CHR. Binigyan siya ng P1,000 [CHR
Duterte, saying that the latter “does
not want to enforce the principle
of checks and balances” under his
regime.
“Mr. Duterte, on the principle of
checks and balances, he doesn’t want
to be checked. He never wants to be
checked. He does not like human
“It’s a very undemocratic approach
to governance. And I think the Filipino
people should not allow it. We should
continue to defend what we had won in
EDSA,” she added.
The former CHR chief urged citizens
to voice out their condemnation against
human rights violations.
“If we come out connectively, as long
as the people will act, aatras si Duterte.
Pag madami na ang nagagalit, aatras
siya,” Rosales said. n Anna Felicia Bajo, RSJ/
KVD, GMA News | Published September 14, 2017
5:24 PM movement in Congress, weeks after it
ginagawa ‘yung trabaho niya. Ilang
buwan na naghihingi ako anong cases
ang may violation of human rights,”
Densing said,
He said one should have evidence
before he state that a case involves
human rights violations.
“Siya labas siya nang labas na state
sanctioned (ang killings) pero hingan
mo ng ebidensiya wala namang
ipinapakitang ebidensiya. Human
rights advocacy is now evidence-
based, you cannot say there is human
rights violations if there are no clear
evidence and when there are clear
evidence, dapat i-address agad,”
Densing said.
He also said Gascon, an appointee
of former President Benigno Aquino III,
was harping on extrajudicial killings to
get the attention of the international
community so the latter can impose
sanctions on the Philippines.
He mentioned the sanctions the
European Union was supposed to
impose to the Philippines and the
$434 million grant from Millennium
Challenge Corporation which has been
deferred due to concerns on the rule of
law and civil liberties. He said the grant be independent and not member of
was supposed to fund anti-poverty
programs of the government.
“Kasi pag nagkaroon ng economic
sanction ang UN, mamomroblema tayo
sa Pilipinas, maghihirap tayo, magagalit
ang tao kay Presidente Duterte at pag
nagalit kay Presidente Duterte, ipo-force
siya mag-resign, magre-rebolusyon ang
tao,” Densing said.
Duterte discusses BBL with lawmakers, MILF leaders—Dureza
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on
Thursday met with the leaders of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front and
the Congress to discuss how to move
the Bangsamoro Basic Law forward,
Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process Sec. Jesus Dureza has said.
Dureza said that Duterte had
a meeting with MILF’s central
committee and the members of the
Bangsamoro Transition Committee
September 2017 / Fortnightly – No. 18 • UK & Europe Edition
“Hopefully if he (Duterte) resigns,
the presidency will return to the Liberal
Party.”
Independent leader. Densing said
the person heading the CHR should
any political party, as he noted that the
agency is needed in the government for
check and balance.
“Ibig sabihin he is using the CHR as
a propaganda for the Liberal Party not
to mention that he is a ranking official
of the Liberal Party so may conflict,”
Densing said.
Gascon served as director general of
LP from 2008 to 2011.
“Dapat ang ina-appoint as chair
o any member of CHR should not
belong to any political institution.
So napupulitika ngayon. Ginagamit
niya ang independence ng CHR to
promote the political propaganda of
and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez
and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel
III in Malacañang.
“He just said, sabi niya, ‘Meron
akong plano at tawagin ko uli kayo.
Mag-usap tayo,’” he told reporters.
“It’s really how to nurture na talagang author lang, bahala na. Pabayaan mo
papasa iyan kasi ‘pag pakawalan mo
iyan, certify mo lang iyan, pagdating
doon may mga question pa iyong
ibang mga members of Congress dahil
the political party,” Densing said.
Densing also said Gascon “should
be replaced by a person who is
a human rights defender and at
the same time does not have any
political leanings just to promote the
independence of CHR.”
Asked if he has someone in mind to
replace Gascon, Densing said none.
On the other hand, Assistant
Secretary Ricojudge Janvier Echiverri
believes there is no need for Gascon
to resign but “he should serve all
cases of human rights violations and
not just those allegedly committed by
government agents.”
“If he will show his liberal leaning all
the time, it will not help ease political
tension,” he said in a text message to
GMA News Online. n Amita Legaspi, KBK/
KVD, GMA News | Published September 14, 2017
5:50 PM
may Constitutional issues pa iyan,” he
added.
Dureza said the Executive branch
could not let go of the BBL to ensure its
smooth passage and implementation.
“Diba dati akala natin merong mag-
na ang Kongreso diyan. Naku, ‘pag
pakawalan mo iyan at hindi mo gawan
ng game plan from the executive, baka
hindi mo ma-ano…” he said.
Dureza, however, did not give any
details on Duterte’s BBL road map.
But the game plan is already worked
on by the Office of the President in
coordination with the Congress leaders.
Nonetheless, the President
assured the Moro and Congress
leaders that he would “continue to
husband the approval of BBL until its
implementation.”
The MILF previously scored the
Duterte administration for the BBL’s non-
was presented to the President. n Trisha
Macas, NB, GMA News | Published September 14,
2017 8:29 PM