ON February 16, 2015, the Ateneo Human Rights Center and the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives held a forum on the planned creation of the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission.
The creation of the body is contained in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, the discussions for which was suspended by both the House of Representatives and the Senate after the Mamasapano incident on January 25, 2015 in the province of Maguindanao.
Forty-four members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation front fighters, and five civilians died in the police-led operations codenamed Oplan Exodus. It aimed to kill or capture two foreign bombmakers declared as terrorists by the United States government.
THERE is a need to go beyond biases, says CHR chair Loretta Ann P. Rosales, left, during a forum held on February 16, 2015. Also in photo are lawyers Raissa Jajurie and Mohammad Al-amin Julkipli, both members of the legal team of the GPH panel in talks with the MILF | Photo by Ghessa
In this video short produced by PCIJ deputy producer Cong B. Corrales, resource persons took turns stressing the need for a separate body that will uphold and protect human rights in the Bangsamoro.
Commission on Human Rights chair Loretta Ann P. Rosales pointed out the need to rethink perceptions about the Moro people because these “distorted reflections” indicate a lack of knowledge and information, prejudices and biases against them.
View the video to see more about the forum. Let us know what you think. Your comments and suggestions are welcome on our comments box below.
Shaded on the map of Mindanao are the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); the cities of Marawi, Cotabato, and Isabela; six municipalities in Lanao del Norte; and 39 barangays in North Cotabato. (The six municipalities and 39 barangays voted for inclusion in an earlier plebiscite in 2001.)
The residents of these areas will decide the final scope of Bangsamoro through a plebiscite that will be held after Congress passes the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). The neighboring areas may join through a resolution for inclusion from the local government or through a petition signed by at least 10 percent of “qualified” voters.
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Shaded on the map of Mindanao are the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); the cities of Marawi, Cotabato, and Isabela; six municipalities in Lanao del Norte; and 39 barangays in North Cotabato. (The six municipalities and 39 barangays voted for inclusion in an earlier plebiscite in 2001.)
The residents of these areas will decide the final scope of Bangsamoro through a plebiscite that will be held after Congress passes the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). The neighboring areas may join through a resolution for inclusion from the local government or through a petition signed by at least 10 percent of “qualified” voters.
Click on the image below to read the full article on our MoneyPolitics website.
CONGRESS has suspended deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) but the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Regional Human Rights Commission of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RHRC-ARMM) have refused to relax their bid for the creation of a Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC) under the BBL.
In a forum titled “Institutionalizing Human Rights Promotion and Protection in the Bangsamoro Basic Law” held Monday, February 16, at the Ateneo Rockwell Campus, RHRC-ARMM Chairperson Algamar Latiph said the creation of the BHRC will help ensure that the human rights of the Moro people are well protected.
“ARMM is a conflict area. The people must be assured that their basic human rights will not be violated. Therefore, there is a need for human rights institution to be with us,” Latiph stressed.
The Technical Working Group of the House Ad Hoc Committee on BBL has deleted, for supposed reason of unconstitutionality, Section 7, Article 9 of the proposed BBL (H.B. No. 4994), which mandates the creation of an independent and impartial BHRC under the Bangsamoro.
“ARMM is a conflict area. The people must be assured that their basic human rights will not be violated. Therefore, there is a need for human rights institution to be with us.” – RHRC-ARMM Chairperson Algamar Latiph | PCIJ File Photo
According to Latiph, the Moro people are generally subject to heightened vulnerability for various reasons, including cultural prejudices and situations of armed conflict, thus the need to protect their human rights.
From July 12, 2012 to October 2013, an average of 993 people per day were forced to leave their homes, at an average of 15 days per person, to avoid the effects of armed conflict, he added.
Latest data from the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) of the ARMM also show that more than 6,000 residents of Mamasapano town have fled their homes after the January 25, 2015 clash between the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force and armed groups in the area.
An ongoing clash between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has prompted hundreds of families in Pikit, North Cotabato to flee their homes this week.
If included in the BBL, the BHRC will replace the current RHRC, an agency under the ARMM that is independent from the CHR. The RHRC was created on June 26, 2012. Its regional office in Cotabato City has established human rights action centers in several ARMM provinces. Thus far, it has investigated and provided legal assistance to 2,860 human rights cases.
CHR Chairperson Loreta Ann Rosales voiced support for the creation of the BHRC, saying that the 1987 Constitution does not preclude the creation of other human rights institutions. In fact, she said, it was the CHR that instigated the creation of the RHRC-ARMM. “The CHR and the BHRC can coexist and work with each other.”
“With the increasing number of human rights violations across the country and the limited staff of the Commission, the CHR needs all the help it can get in investigating these violations,” Rosales said, adding that the “CHR only has regional presence but it doesn’t have the strength to investigate human rights violations due to its limited staff.
For her part, lawyer Raissa Jajuries, a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), said the overlapping functions of CHR and BHRC do not mean that the CHR is inefficient. Rather, she said, these reflect the autonomy of the Bangsamoro.
“The idea is autonomy,” said Jajuries.
Jose Luis Martin Gascon, undersecretary in the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs and a member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, affirmed Rosales’s position, stressing that it is possible to have a national human rights institution (NHRI) and sublevel human rights institutions.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have suspended deliberations on the proposed BBL following the clash between the PNP-SAF and armed groups, including the MoMILF and BIFF, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015. Forty-four SAF troopers, 18 MILF fighters, and five civilians were killed in the firefight, apart from scores more injured. – PCIJ, February 2015
IT WAS created to ensure that its peoples would no longer be left behind in development and that they would finally enjoy peace. Yet more than 25 years after its creation, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remains unable to deliver on its twin objectives.
ARMM represents about four percent of the country’s population, based on 2010 figures. It comprises five provinces, two cities, 116 municipalities, and 2,490 barangays. The five provinces are Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
Infighting among clans, clashes between the Philippine military and Muslim insurgents, and the activities of lawless elements have made for a tense and uneasy ARMM populace. Unsurprisingly, ARMM has failed to prosper, and official statistics make this all the more apparent.
FIGHTERS of the Moro National Liberation Front in Mindanao | PCIJ file photo published on October 2012
President Corazon C. Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 6734 (the Organic Act of ARMM) on Aug. 1, 1989. On Nov. 17, 1989, a plebiscite was conducted in the proposed areas of ARMM but only four provinces – Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu opted to join it. Exactly 25 years ago on Feb. 17, 1990, Zacaria Candao won the first election for ARMM; he assumed office as the first ARMM regional governor on July 6, 1990.
On Sept. 2, 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos signed a Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that led to the election of MNLF chairman Nur Misuari as ARMM regional governor.
In September 2001, at a plebiscite conducted for the ratification of Republic Act No. 9054 on the expansion of ARMM, Basilan and the Islamic City of Marawi voted to be part of the regional government.
GOVERNMENT troops deployed in Mindanao | PCIJ File Photo
In the November 2001 elections for ARMM, Dr. Farouk Hussien won as Regional Governor for the expanded ARMM and assumed office in January 2002.
However, in the subsequent elections in 2005 and 2008, Arroyo’s political lieutenant, Datu Zaldy Ampatuan won as regional governor, while his son Datu Zaldy Ampatuan won as governor of Maguindanao province.
After the Ampatuans were charged for the massacre of 58 persons, including 32 media workers in what has been called “the Maguindanao massacre” of Nov. 23,2 009, ARMM regional vice governor Ansaruddin Alonto became ARMM Governor in acting capacity.
FORMER ARMM governor and MNLF chairman Nur Misuari | PCIJ File Photo
But five governors and 25 years hence, ARMM has consistently remained the poorest region in the Philippines. Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur have always landed on the National Statistical Coordination Board’s list of top 10 poorest provinces since 2000. The numbers barely move as years pass. In ARMM, over half the number of families cannot afford basic needs such as food, housing, and clothing. By comparison, at the national level, one in four families is poor.
In 2009, the Philippines had a Human Development Index (HDI) value of .609, which placed it in the “medium human development” category. ARMM’s Human Development Index value, meanwhile, was at .35, which put it under the “low human development” level.
AN ARTILLERY unit of the Armed Forces in Mindanao | PCIJ File Photo
The HDI is an alternate way of measuring progress by assessing human development through life expectancy, years of schooling, and income. ARMM’s HDI was at the level of African countries such as Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. These African countries had Gross Domestic Product per capita of anywhere between $400 and $700, whereas the Philippines posted at least $2,700.
Among the 17 regions in the Philippines, ARMM posted the lowest simple and functional literacy rate at 82 percent and 72 percent, respectively, in 2013. Simple literacy is the ability of a person to read and write with understanding a simple message in any language or dialect. Functional literacy includes numeracy and all the life skills and knowledge a person needs to survive and function in a society.
The 2012 data of the Department of Education showed that more than two pupils shared a seat in ARMM when seats had already been adequate for pupils at the national level.
MULTIMEDIA: Slideshow of photos taken by journalist Jose Jaime Espina on 2009, a year after fighting broke out between government forces and the Moto Islamic Liberation Front after the Supreme Court struck down the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
Worst, the 2011 DepEd data indicated less than a quarter of the students completed their elementary education in ARMM. The lowest survival rate was recorded in Marawi City and Tawi-Tawi at merely eight percent. – PCIJ, February 2015
