FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has raised the possibility that the Philippine hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Human Rights Body in Manila is at grave risk due to lack of funds.

He said his department had asked for a 2010 budget of P19 billion, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved only P12.394 billion, even lower than the current allocation of P12.543 billion.

Romulo said establishing the Asean human-rights panel secretariat in Manila was part of the commitments made by President Arroyo to the regional bloc along with establishing a regional headquarters of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Romulo said his department needed a total of P424.480 million to be able to establish the rights body headquarters which would cost P350 million and the UNDP office, P15.4 million. The remaining P59 million is to cover foreign-exchange fluctuations.

The DFA chief said the agency actually needed P750 million for establishing the Asean Human Rights headquarters in the Philippines. Of this, P500 million will cover acquisition of building land and construction costs while the remaining P200 million is for operational costs.

“The amount [P350 million] that we are asking is just a start-up budget for the Asean human- rights body headquarters. We hope that the DBM will reconsider this request because President Arroyo supports the establishment of the Asean human-rights office in the Philippines,” said Romulo during a House committee budget hearing.

Leaders of the regional bloc are set to set up the Asean Human Rights Commission late October 2009 with the final approval of the terms of reference that guides the operations of the rights body.

The Asean rights body is created as part of the Asean Charter to enable the regional bloc to operate as an intergovernmental policy- making body of the region and make the policies binding to all member- countries.

Romulo has also asked the House Committee on Budget to push for the retention of its original budget to cover the costs of paying new diplomats and personnel to be assigned in five new embassies, three consulates abroad and five regional consular offices in the country.

Lakas Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay has questioned, meanwhile, the DFA for its failure to push for the ratification of the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances.

He said in 2007, the Arroyo administration, then facing increasing cases of extrajudicial killings, had campaigned for Philippine membership in the UN Human Rights Council with a commitment to push for the ratification of the treaty.

“The Philippines’ membership to the UN Human Rights Council expires on 2010 but the treaty has not been ratified and the commitment has not been achieved,” said Lagman.