MANILA – Southern Luzon Command chief, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., is at a lost on why a ranking official of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) would belittle a United Nations (UN) resolution endorsing support for ongoing efforts to improve its human rights and accountability mechanisms.
Parlade, who is also a member of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, was referring to the statements of CHR Commissioner Karen S. Gomez-Dumpit made during an interview with ANC Friday regarding the October 7 resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that recognizes the Philippines’ domestic accountability institutions to address cases of human rights violations alleged by activists and interest groups.
In the said interview, Dumpit said while she is “quite hopeful about this resolution but it really falls short of expectations of the human rights community.”
“There has been no marked improvement of the human rights situation on the ground,” Gomez-Dumpit added in the same interview.
Parlade, however, said these statements are contrary to UNHRC resolution that endorses support for Philippine human rights institution-building.
He attributed the accurate portrayal of the country’s human rights situation to the efforts of the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva led by Ambassador Evan P. Garcia.
“Other than the obvious political agenda of the CHR, what is the beef of Commissioner Karen S. Gomez-Dumpit for speaking against the findings and report of the UNHRC? Are they threatened that the CHR will soon be rendered irrelevant?” Parlade asked.
He added that CHR official need not be threatened by irrelevance because even as the government bureaucracy makes improvements on its human rights advocacy and performance, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) still exists and is an endless source of acts of terror against the Filipino people.
“Why is Commissioner Dumpit having a hard time accepting the fact that the Philippines’ human rights situation has improved and is continuously improving?” Parlade said in a statement Sunday.
He also asked what the basis is for Gomez-Dumpit’s claims of lack of improvements on the ground.
“What is her basis for saying that nothing much has improved on the ground? Are they too dependent on what Chairperson Chito Gascon has been telling them? Have they become the mouthpiece for the lies of the Kamatayan (Makabayan) bloc and its allies like Karapatan?” he said.
He added that maybe what the CHR does is just merely take in all the “lies and fake reports of these ‘interest’ groups” whose goal is to destroy the image of the government and the country.
Parlade questioned the CHR’s refusal to meet and listen to the victims of NPA atrocities like the parents whose children were recruited by the communist terrorists and the Indigenous Peoples whose leaders were killed by the insurgents.
“The government through our permanent representatives in Geneva, led by Ambassador Garcia did a wonderful job at presenting the real score about the human rights situation in the Philippines. Instead of congratulating them, the CHR continues to cast doubt on the government’s ability to observe International Conventions on Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law. Why does the CHR do this?” he said.
Actions like these, he said, could be likened to termites that actively destroy our homes while from under.
“They are termites trying to destroy our homes from under. Who benefits when they do this? Certainly not the country but its enemies,” Parlade said, referring to the CPP-NPA and its allies.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines
He also asked who benefits from efforts aimed at discrediting the government.
“And maybe at some point, Chito Gascon will find the courage to speak for the commission he heads, the CHR and not the subalterns he sends to the front lines to take the heat he ought to be taking. It just sounds so familiar- this cowardice,” he said.