CHR conducts dialogue with ‘duty bearers’ and ‘rights holders’ on freedom of assembly

CHR Chairperson Loretta Ann P. Rosales with Mr. Ivo Sieber, Ambassador of Switzerland. Photo from Loretta Ann P. Rosales’s Facebook page.

MANILA, Aug. 14 (PNA)—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) spearheaded a peaceful dialogue on Thursday between Philippine National Police (PNP) officials or the so-called “duty bearers” and “rights holders” or rallyists or those who usually hold public assemblies as part of their efforts in airing their grievances to the government.

According to CHR Chairperson Loretta Ann P. Rosales, they initiated the dialogue to arrive at a closer assessment of the existing policies and practices implemented during the holding of public assemblies.

Cited as an example of this was the fifth State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno S.

Aquino III during the joint session of Congress last July 28 at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

Rosales said the dialogue meant to arrive at recommendations that will improve current policies and practices on rally situations as well as seeking explanation on how and why the duty bearers came out with the decision to resort on dispersal of the rallyists with water hoses.

“We want to resolve it, so let us all be candid,” Rosales said at the start of the dialogue.

The duty bearers, through National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Carmelo Valamoria, stressed that the police officers deployed during the SONA were all exercising maximum tolerance as part of the operational procedures.

Valmoria said the conduct of duty bearers during the occasion had helped very much in having the “most peaceful SONA ever.”

He noted that while the demonstrators caused much traffic problem in the area, they were not driven or dispersed as they also considered the presence of women and children among the rallyists.

He explained that the decision to use water hoses for controlling the crowd was executed when some rallyists began resorting to violent means by burning effigies of the President and cutting the barb wires placed as barriers within the parameters that protesters should not enter.

“Such was a clear manifestation of destruction of public property,” said Supt. Procopio Lipana of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

Rasti Delizo, political affairs coordinator of SANLAKAS, and Rosemarie Trajano, secretary general of the Philippines Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), both cited that all they wanted was to air their grievances before the President.

“If he really considers us his true bosses, then he needs to hear us and we should be allowed to come closer so that he will know what are the things we want to communicate to him,” Trajano said.

Several other salient suggestions were made, including a request that their public assemblies for the next SONA be allowed to be done near the House of Representatives building.

Clarifications were also made regarding the issuance of permit to rally and why there are times it is not granted or denied and if there is a need for Batas Pambansa Blg. 880 or the Public Assembly Act to be repealed.

Rosales told the civil society organizations (CSOs) that if they want to pursue the suggestion to repeal the said law, then they should begin reviewing it and then go for lobbying in Congress.

She also explained to them that while she supports the conduct of rallies and freedom to peaceful assembly, which is mandated under the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, it is also important to follow the rule of law to prevent chaos.

“This right can be asserted and exercised anytime, as long as it is not contrary to law, interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morale or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others as earlier mentioned,” the CHR chairperson said.

She added that for the next seminar for the peacekeepers and rights holders, the CHR will be the one that will conduct it to ensure that they can come up with better systems and practices to improve and prevent problems that may escalate to ensure peaceful assemblies.

“I commend our police officers for not being stagnant and we can see that while some engaged in ‘wheel of torture’, there are a lot of good policemen in the ranks because of paradigm shift,” she stressed as she encouraged the rights holders to appreciate that fact.