Migrant workers’ rights, climate justice top CHR priorities

CHR said it is eyeing to use its proposed budget to strengthen services addressing migrant workers’ rights, gender-based violence, child rights, and upholding climate justice. (Photo by Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines – Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, Public Domain)

MANILA – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Wednesday said it is targeting to bolster its human rights services with a slight increase in its proposed 2021 budget.

CHR said it is eyeing to use its proposed budget to strengthen services addressing migrant workers’ rights, gender-based violence, child rights, and upholding climate justice.

On Tuesday’s deliberation, the Senate Committee on Finance adopted the CHR’s proposed budget for FY 2021 amounting to PHP860,501,000.

During their presentation, CHR chairperson Jose Luis Martin “Chito” Gascon and CHR executive director Jacqueline Ann de Guia explained that there is a slight increase from the 2020 budget due to the increase in CHR’s personnel services.

The CHR said the proposed budget will help them in the implementation of the mental health law, monitoring the implementation of the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2), and strengthening the institution, among others.

Gascon, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to the members of the Senate for “championing the mandate of the CHR.”

“We are grateful to the honorable members of the Senate, particularly the Chair (Senator Panfilo Lacson), who has always been a champion of the mandate of the CHR during this current term. As we have appeared before you in previous years, you have defended our budget before the floor and we are grateful for that,” he said in a statement.

Present during the deliberation were committee vice chairperson Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Senator Imee Marcos, and Senator Franklin Drilon.

Marcos cited the Commission on Audit (COA) findings during her interpellation and questioned the travel bookings made by the CHR with Konai Travel Airs as it failed to attach required canvass of suppliers.

De Guia explained the trips were urgent as “these were unforeseen in nature,” adding that they no longer had time to canvass other suppliers.

“Majority of those travels were procured for the investigation of the Zamboanga siege and the Marawi siege and seven were done because of forensic exhumations our autopsies,” she said.

“Therefore, the nature of those trips and travels were urgent and unforeseen. For those that are predictable, programmed, and can be foreseen, we have made sure that we undertook procurement of airline tickets through the General Fair Agreement prescribed by COA,” de Guia added.

De Guia also stressed that the travels purchased from Konai Travel Airs comprised only 8 percent of the total travel allocation which is approximately PHP10 million out of the PHP125 million for the past three years.

However, COA has given CHR a 2019 unmodified rating for satisfactorily answering the findings in accordance with the COA standard.

On the other hand, Gascon said the CHR budget will also prioritize responses on the current issues in the country, particularly in facilitating the “dignity and rights of all” during the health crisis.”