DOJ, CHR ink data sharing pact on EJK, rights violations probe

FILE: Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete confirms that former Marine captain Nicanor Faeldon took his oath as the new Director General of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) before Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra in an ambush interview with reporters on Wednesday (Nov. 21, 2018). (Photo by Benjamin Pulta)

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have entered a data-sharing agreement to further strengthen the mandate of Administrative Order No. 35 (AO 35) which created an inter-agency committee on extrajudicial killings (EJKs), enforced disappearances, torture, and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security of persons.

In a statement on Thursday, the DOJ said Undersecretary Markk Perete and CHR Commissioner Leah Tanodra-Armamento signed the agreement in a virtual ceremony on September 2, which is aimed at facilitating the investigation and case build-up that lead to prosecution in cases within AO 35’s mandate.

The data-sharing agreement includes sharing of investigation reports in AO 35 cases, promotion of closer cooperation evidence gathering and prosecution, security measures, and privacy policies governing data sharing with consideration of the interests of victims and complainants.

“The present data sharing Agreement is necessary considering that we have now the Data Privacy Act. The DSA clearly defines our respective roles, at the same time acknowledges and respects the internal rules of our institutions in the role of data sharing.

The provisions of this DSA, that we are about to sign today, will further strengthen the cooperation between our institutions to serve the ends of justice and protect human rights,” Tanodra-Armamento said.

Meanwhile, Perete said the agreement will strengthen cooperation between the two government agencies.

“This data-sharing agreement with the Commission on Human Rights is an important means for us not only to strengthen the avenues of mutual cooperation between us. More importantly, it will broaden our capacity to gather and receive information crucial in the investigation and prosecution of cases in our docket… We commit not only to protect the data you will share with us; more importantly, we undertake to use them well against those who undermine and violate the rights that inhere in us as humans,” Perete said.
Composite teams of prosecutors and law enforcement officers (Special Investigation Teams) were formed upon the directive of DOJ Secretary and IAC chair Menardo Guevarra to investigate the killings of activists Randall Echanis and Zara Alvarez.

The agreement will facilitate DOJ and CHR collaboration in bringing perpetrators to justice.

AO 35 serves as the state’s mechanism dedicated to resolving cases of political violence such as EJKs, enforced disappearances, and torture, among other similar grave human rights violations.

The signing of the data-sharing agreement resulted from a series of discussions between the two institutions, with support from the European Union and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation through their Governance in Justice Human Rights Project and the Ateneo Human Rights Center, along with other efforts to strengthen the AO 35 as a State mechanism for addressing grave human rights violations.