President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. affirmation to fully respect human rights will be put to the test with the refiling of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act as House Bill No. 77, Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said on Monday.
According to Lagman, identical bills were passed on third and final reading in the House of Representatives during the 17th and 18th Congresses but were not acted upon by the Senate due to time limitations.
The Makabayan bloc legislators have previously filed similar bills.
Lagman said that the “emergence of human rights defenders [HRDs] is both an indictment and symptom of the failure and neglect of the government to fully protect, promote, and fulfill human rights.”
He added that HRDs are surrogate defenders due to government’s default in its primary obligation as the principal protector of human rights under the Constitution.
The following are the rights and freedoms of HRDs as proposed in the refilled bill:
Right to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Right to form groups, associations and organizations;
Right to peaceful assembly;
Right to seek, receive and disseminate information;
Right to privacy;
Right to develop and advocate human rights ideas;
Right to solicit, receive and utilize resources;
Right to access, communicate and cooperate with international and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms;
Right to effective remedy and full reparation;
Freedom from intimidation and reprisal; and
Freedom of movement.