Friday, May 16, 2008 New CHR chief to evaluate Melo, UN reports on slays
NEWLY appointed Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima said she will revisit the reports of the Melo Commission and that of the United Nations (UN) to give "closure" to pending human rights cases and extrajudicial killings.
Speaking to reporters after taking her oath before Chief Justice Reynato Puno, de Lima vowed to create a stronger commission and generate awareness on the importance of human rights at the grassroots level.
De Lima, who has made a name for herself as an election lawyer before accepting the post left by Purificacion Quisumbing, said she will make a top priority of tapping at the underused investigative powers of the CHR.
She said she also planned to consolidate and create a data bank of information and statistics gathered on the human rights situation in the Philippines, to include the reports of former Supreme Court (SC) justice Jose Melo and UN human rights special rapporteur Philip Alston.
"We are seeking the truth about extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. We will closely evaluate both the Melo and Alston reports,” she said.
"I envision a CHR which is the central monitoring agency and repository of statistics and status of cases. There are different figures (of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances),” said de Lima.
The CHR chief further batted for either a prosecutorial or quasi-judicial powers for the commission to enable it to enforce its constitutional mandate to investigate all complaints for rights abuses involving civil and political violations.
She said she will also make sure that the CHR under her stint will monitor the Philippines' compliance of its obligation under international treaties and instrumentalities on human rights.
"We have the rest of the world keenly watching the human rights situation in this country. There has to be a closure in a majority of all the cases, prominent cases of Jonas Burgos and others. People are waiting for answers. There should not be an institutional cowardice," she said.
De Lima also said the Human Security Act which took effect in July last year may have some "potentially dangerous provisions" that is worth looking into.
"There are potentially dangerous provisions there that really have impact on human rights but I would welcome the grant of quasi-judicial powers," she said.
De Lima is best known as the lawyer of Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, son of Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., in his election case questioning the Maguindanao win of Team Unity senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri in the May 2007 elections, but she also served as the legal counsel of a number of political personalities who included Senate President Manuel Villar Jr., Basilan Governor Jum Akbar, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio.
She has previously handled electoral cases as a secretary of the House of Representative Electoral Tribunal from 1993-1995. Prior to that, she worked as confidential attorney of former SC justice Isagani Cruz from 1986-1989.
In 2007, she became one of the members of the SC Sub-Committee on Election Rules with fellow election lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Sixto Brillantes Jr., and Pete Quadra.
De Lima graduated Law from San Beda College, where she also taught until last year. She will serve a seven-year term at the CHR. (ECV/Sunnex)
