Group seeks UN’s help vs gov’t human rights violations

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13 November 2008. In her speech during the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) review in Geneva, Switzerland, Chairperson Leila de Lima of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) urged the Philippine government to impose a moratorium on demolitions and forced evictions until consultation and resettlement provisions are implemented.

CHR’s appeal was made during the 41st session of the UNCESCR on November 11-12 which reviewed government compliance with its economic and social obligations including providing adequate and accessible shelter to its constituents especially to the homeless.

De lima also asserted that the country’s housing law, Urban Development Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992 should be amended to extend its protection against summary evictions to people living along railroad tracks, rivers and other areas considered danger zones.

Judge Ariranga Pillay of Mauritius, a member of said UN body, noted the unusually high number of Filipino families forcibly evicted from their homes indicating that these incidents had not abated since the committee first raised this issue to the government back in 1995.

Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC) director Severo Catura who was also in the review admitted that there were indeed incidences of violations of housing rights but he assured the UN committee that these were going to be addressed.

Catura also stated that the PHRC already partnered with the CHR in the effort to investigate and monitor housing rights violations particularly forced evictions.

Civil society groups in its alternative report to the committee during the review, estimated that 85,370 families or 505,355 individuals had been evicted since 1996 to 2008 mostly due to urban beautification and infrastructure projects such as the NorthRail and SouthRail projects.

“More than half of these evicted families were displaced during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and also mostly due to the clearing operations of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) led by chairperson Bayani Fernando,” the groups, led by the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), said.

The report on the implementation of the right to adequate housing was prepared by UPA, John J. Caroll Institute on Church and Social Issues, Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (Saligan) and the Foundation for the Development of the Urban Poor.

Aside from the housing rights group, several non-governmental organizations also made reports on the implementation of social and economic rights such as access to food, employment, water, education, and health services.

Based on the civil society report to the UNCESCR, Filipinos' enjoyment of economic and social rights was gravely compromised by certain government priorities, policies, and practices such as the Philippine Mining Act, automatic appropriations for debt servicing, corruption, and unclear population agenda.

Furthermore, issues of concern raised by the UNCESCR back in 1995 such as lack of judicial powers of the CHR, vulnerable situation of children, non-completion and weaknesses of the agrarian reform program, and privatization of health services are still part of present realities.

The civil society report backed by more than one hundred organizations was facilitated by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights), research arm of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates and the UPA.

Major contributors to the NGO report were the Saligan, Center for Migrant Advocacy, Homenet Southeast Asia, Philippine NGO Coalition for Food Sovereignty, Medical Action Group, Freedom from Debt Coalition, and Education Network – Philippines. -30-

Hiding Behind Numbers

Press Statement

November 6, 2008


Hiding Behind Numbers

On the eve of a United Nation's (UN) review of Philippine efforts to improve the quality of life of its people, the country landed fifth (5th) among the world's most hungry nations with 40% or 4 out of 10 of Filipinos admitting they experienced hunger in the past year according to recent survey of Gallup International.

Despite this bad news, government delegates to the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) hearing on November 11-12 in Geneva, Switzerland are most likely to say it has implemented policies and programs to satisfy social and economic rights such as access to food, employment, housing, education, and health services.

Moreover, the government in its submission to the UNCESCR painted a rosy economic picture citing reduced poverty from 45.5% in 1988 to 30.4% in 2003 and an average 3-5% growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP) and key sectors of the economy from 2001-2004.

The official report, while acknowledging some weaknesses like lack of spending on public education, also claimed general improvements in the nutritional and health status of Filipinos based on indicators such as infant and maternal mortality rates.

However, civil society groups admonished the government not to emulate Joc-joc Bolante, a former agriculture official implicated in a P700 million fertilizer scam, who kept on evading the truth behind legal technicalities. The administration could not always hide behind statistics and jargons, glimpses of the real situation of its people would inevitably come out in the open like the results of the Gallup hunger study.

Based on the civil society report to the UNCESCR, Filipinos' enjoyment of economic and social rights was gravely compromised by certain government priorities, policies, and practices such as the Philippine Mining Act, automatic appropriations for debt servicing, corruption, and unclear population agenda.

Furthermore, issues of concern raised by the UNCESCR back in 1995 such as lack of judicial powers of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), forced evictions, vulnerable situation of children, non-completion and weaknesses of the agrarian reform program, and privatization of health services are still part of present realities.

This is not surprising since the government failed to heed most of the UNCESCR recommendations made thirteen (13) years ago including increased budget for slum upgrading and affordable housing, fast tracking of the agrarian reform program, and designating a body that would prevent forced evictions.

To put back on track its compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), civil society groups call on the government to take the following steps:

a.) enact legislations on reproductive health, social pension for the elderly, anti-prostitution, patients' rights, mandatory food labelling, Food Security Act, domestic reflection of Precautionary Principles, and Magna Carta for Women;

b.) repeal or amend Mining Act, anti-terrorism law, National Building Code;

c.) prioritize basic services and agriculture development in the national budget and not debt servicing, spending for services should be aligned with internationally and locally recommended standards such as WHO prescription of 5% of GDP for health;

d.) reform mandates of the CHR and other redress mechanisms to give them appropriate powers, make them more independent and insulated from politics, and facilitate civil society participation; and

e.) Aggressively lobby foreign creditors for debt moratorium and/or cancellation / repudiation of onerous and illegitimate liabilities.

The civil society report backed by more than one hundred organizations was facilitated by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights), research arm of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and the Urban Poor Associates (UPA).

Major contributors to the NGO report were the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (Saligan), Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), Homenet Southeast Asia, Philippine NGO Coalition for Food Sovereignty (PNLC), Medical Action Group (MAG), Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), and Education Network – Philippines (E-Net).

Philippine NGO-PO Network for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights


Contact Persons: Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan Dr. PH (433-1714)

Renato Mabunga (436-2633)

Ted Añana (426-4118)

Read on - Philippine NGO Network Report on the Implementation of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social,and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT IS A GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR

PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT IS A GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR, IN PARTICULAR THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING

IN 1995 the UN issued its concerns about the Philippine government’s failure to comply with the international treaty, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and gave a list of recommendations about housing rights, to the Philippine Government in order remedy the rampant commission of forced evictions, a prima facie violation of the right to adequate housing. A reading of the UN document shows that the Philippine Government from former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Estrada to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo barely complied with the recommendations. Specifically on forced evictions, monitoring by NGOs has shown:

Since 1996 to June 2008 the Philippine Government has failed to stop forced evictions committed by third parties but has itself committed forced evictions considered gross violations of human rights, in particular the right to adequate housing, General Comment No. 7 on Forced Evictions and in violation of its 1997 Constitution and the Urban Development and Housing of 1992 or RA 7279.

Adequate protection and due process were not observed;Advance or prior notice was largely not complied with;Consultations with the affected families and communities were not conducted.

Nearly 50% of those evicted were not provided relocation. The government’s failure to provide relocation to nearly half of the evicted families violates the UN’s document on Forced Evictions which says “Evictions should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights.”

Thousands of families were rendered homeless and were made vulnerable to other human rights violations, such as the rights to work, education, health, food and water, and the right to be protected against “arbitrary or unlawful interference” with one’s home. Moreover, the government and the courts did not provide compensation to the evicted families

Nearly a fourth of the evictions carried out were violent. Many were injured and some were arrested. Vulnerable groups, namely the children, women and elderly suffered the most. Children were traumatized and many stopped attending school. Pregnant women gave premature births or lost their babies. The elderly were reduced to living without shelter, under the sun, the rain and the cold, endangering their health.

The Government attempt to correct this situation was a failure. Its Executive Order No. 152 empowering the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor as the clearing house for the compliance of Section 28 of the UDHA was largely ignored by government agencies, such as MMDA and some LGUs. In February the clearing house function was transferred to LGUs, but its IRR has not been issued. Thus no clearing house function at present exists.

The Government tolerated or ignored national government agencies and local government units which used other laws, such as the Civil Code on nuisance, the National Building Code or PD 1096 to evict poor families without the legal protection or dues process contained in domestic and international laws. UN guidelines on Forced Evictions says: “The State itself must refrain from forced evictions and ensure that the law is enforced against its agents or third parties who carry out forced evictions.”

No court decision at the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court has as yet been rendered recognizing the right to adequate housing of poor families and thus providing them legal protection against forced evictions. Lower courts continue to issue decisions based solely on property rights, either of the government or private entities, ignoring or rejecting arguments protecting the housing rights of the affected families.

Congress, on the other hand, has not exercised its oversight function on the compliance of government agencies with the UDHA. It has not initiated efforts to plug loopholes in the UDHA.

The Philippine Government is in breach of the international treaty. It must therefore exert extra efforts to remedy this situation.


RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE UN CESCR


The Philippine Government must:

1. Prosecute all those who commit forced evictions either through the courts, ombudsman, the Commission on Human Rights, or administrative bodies

2. Establish an independent body with the power to ensure compliance with domestic and international laws against forced evictions, including the power to suspend or stop forced evictions.

3. Order all government bodies that there is only one law, the UDHA, specifically its Section 28, in conformity with General Comment No. 7 on Forced Evictions, to be followed when carrying out just and humane demolitions/evictions and that they should not use any other laws and regulations such as the National Building Code or PD 1096, the law on nuisance, including ordinances such as the MMDA Ordinances No. 03-96 and No. 02-28. Moreover, clarify and instruct all government agencies and units that there is no cut-off date in the UDHA.

4. Establish a special court on housing rights at the lower levels as well at the level of the Court of Appeals, make it obligatory for the Philippine Judicial Academy to include a course on housing rights in its curriculum for judges and a similar course in the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) for lawyers, lower or remove court fees in housing rights cases involving the urban poor, and process expeditiously court cases involving forced eviction and similar cases, extend Writ of Amparo and habeas data to economic, social and cultural rights violations, such as illegal demolitions.

5. Hold twice annually oversight hearings, separately or jointly by the two houses of Congress, on the compliance of the UDHA, in particular Section 28, by government agencies and units, amend certain provisions of the UDHA such as stiffer penalties for those who commit forced evictions.

6. Government should be asked to keep statistics on evictions.


For the UN CESCR:

1. Get commitments from the Philippine government that it will invite fact finding missions from UN Rapporteurs, including the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing.

2. Send letters of inquiry or concern to the Philippine government regarding reports and complaints of forced evictions by civil society organizations, as what the former CESCR chairman Philip Alston did on the report of massive forced evictions because of the 1996 APEC.

3. Persuade the officials of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government to undergo seminars on housing rights and forced evictions to be conducted by UN housing rights experts.

4. Send letters of inquiry and concern to ODA donors and foreign investors on their obligations to avoid forced evictions in their projects in the Philippines.