QUEZON City, Philippines – On the evening of September 12, 2017, the House of Representatives approved the reduction of the budget of the Commission on Human Rights or CHR for 2018 from P678 million to just P1,000. The budget cut was approved with 119 members of the House of Representatives voting for it and 32 voting against it. The vote was done via viva voce or oral voting and standing to indicate a vote.
During the budget hearing, the lawmakers who voted to reduce the CHR’s budget said that the CHR must be fair in investigating all human rights violations, and not concentrate on abuses allegedly done by the police and the military.
They asserted that the Commission on Human Rights should not be selective when it comes to fulfilling its function of protecting human rights. They also argued that condemning and investigating government abuses was not the primary function of CHR.
The CHR is currently one of the most controversial government bodies today and the drastic budget cut done by the House of the Representatives is just the latest in the saga of the seeming conflict between the Commission on Human Rights and the Duterte administration. The P1000 budget of the CHR sparked debates, especially in social media. Netizens were divided on the issue, with one side agreeing and another side disagreeing.
On September 19, Congress decided to restore the CHR’s budget. But House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Karlo Nograles clarified that the CHR budget would only be restored partially. Lawmakers will not grant the orginal budget proposal of more than P600 million, but will only allot P508 million for the controversial agency.
Against this backdrop, let’s learn more about the Commission on Human Rights, its duties and its functions and the vital role that it plays in our democracy.
