FURTHER STRENGTHENING GOVERNMENT POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROGRAMS FOR THE EFFECTIVE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSA…

WHEREAS, the 10th of December 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the
United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), with the Philippines as
among its first signatories, and joining the community of nations at the
forefront in the promotion and protection of human rights all over the
world;

WHEREAS, the Philippine government, as one of the first elected
members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, recognizes the
significance of this occasion as an inspiring symbol spurring the
government’s overall effort to promote and protect human rights;

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government deems it fit to mark this event by
further strengthening its existing policies, plans and programs in
accordance with the specific principles, rights, and freedoms
specifically identified in the UDHR as a manifestation of its commitment
to fully comply and abide by the tenets of the Declaration;

WHEREAS, the Philippine government renews its commitment to the
general principles of the UDHR that specifies that humans, being born
free and equal and in brotherhood with one another, are equal before
the law, are entitled to all the human rights, and, as such, shall not
be deprived of these rights;

WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution comprehensively addresses and even
enhances the principles, freedoms and rights embodied in the UDHR, thus
defining the country’s lasting contributions to the Declaration;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by
law, do hereby order as follows:

SECTION 1. All concerned departments, agencies, bodies and
instrumentalities of the Executive branch of government, including local
government units, are directed to strengthen and to ensure compliance
to their existing policies, plans and programs as they would enhance
government’s overall effort in the promotion and protection of human
rights, taking into account the specific applicable rights and freedoms
embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as
follows:

a. Department of Justice to exhaust all legal means for the swift
and just resolution of cases of alleged human rights violations against
political and media personalities, and leaders in the labor, urban poor, and agricultural sectors, and to ensure that the perpetrators are
held accountable before the law.

b. Department of Justice to implement an updated comprehensive
legal education campaign that will further inform and educate the
general public on their basic rights under the Philippine justice
system; and, in partnership with the Department of Budget and Management
and in cooperation with Congress, to strengthen the capability of the
Public Attorneys Office and the Public Prosecutors Office, specifically
by hiring more lawyers to better attend to the legal needs of indigents
in conflict with the law, with the corresponding fund support for
additional lawyers and legal officers, and for the increase in the
salaries of and the grant of special allowances for prosecutors and PAO
lawyers;

c. Department of National Defense and Department of Interior and
Local Government to enhance their respective human rights training
programs for military and police officers and personnel to ensure that
rights of civilians, communities, internally displaced persons, as well
as detained persons, are promoted and protected during peace and order
and internal security operations, underscoring, among others, the
importance of command responsibility and accountability;

d. Department of Interior and Local Government to spearhead
capability-building on human rights for local government units in
partnership with national human rights institutions, sectoral groups,
and civil society organizations, and to ensure the accountability of
LGUs in the effective information dissemination of human rights in
their communities;

e. Department of Education to assess the current implementation
of its human rights education exemplars and to move towards the creation
of centers for human rights education in public schools in partnership
with human rights institutions, sectoral groups, and civil society
organizations to build a constituency of human rights advocates among
students and the youth;

f. Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to spearhead the
implementation of the Philippine Main Education Highway Program as contained in the proposal of the Presidential Task Force on
Education for the improvement of basic education, increased student
retention rate, and actual completion of higher education;

g. Department of Social Welfare and Development to ensure that
the implementation of the National Social Welfare Program that seeks to
protect the poor and the vulnerable sectors of society, including the
informal sectors, and allows them equal and broader access to public
service, are made attuned to the rights-based-approach in the extension
of its programs.

h. Department of Labor and Employment to enhance programs for
reintegration of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), such as improving the
National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NCRO) to address the needs of
returning OFWs and members of their families, such as entrepreneurship
training, livelihood projects, etc;

i. National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women to lead a
gender-sensitive information campaign for the provision of
gender-sensitive public services by local government units, and other
frontline government agencies, such as the Department of National
Defense -Armed Forces of the Philippines; Department of Interior and
Local Government-Philippine National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of Justice, including others
involved in addressing violence against women;

j. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to undertake
programs that will further promote and protect the rights of indigenous
peoples in the country in consonance with Indigenous Peoples Rights Act,
taking into account their significant contributions to the economic,
social and cultural life of the Filipino nation;

k. National Anti-Poverty Commission to aggressively ensure the
rationalization of all efforts of agencies concerned that bear on the
reduction of poverty in the country, focusing on the role of basic
sectors and their contribution to poverty alleviation;

l. National Economic Development Authority to ensure that the
principles of the rights-based-approach are integrated, reflected and
defined in the formulation of the country’s development policies,
plans, and programs;

m. Council for the Welfare of Children, in partnership with the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, to advance and
implement a more effective framework that will further guarantee the
protection of children in situations of armed conflict and, in
partnership with the Department of Justice, to ensure the proper
treatment of children in conflict with the law;

n. Local government units, on guidance from the Department of
Interior and Local Government, to integrate the pertinent principles and
rights in the UDHR into their respective development plans and
programs, starting with, in partnership with the Presidential Commission
on the Urban Poor, the institution of effective local ordinances and
rules and regulations in the implementation of the Urban Development and
Housing Act, specifically in the proper relocation of informal settlers
and for other assistance.

SECTION 2. All departments, agencies, offices, bodies, and
instrumentalities are to comply with these directives cognizant that
sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person must, at all times,
be upheld, respected,and protected.

SECTION 3. Proper compliance to this order by the concerned
Executive departments, offices, agencies, bodies, and instrumentalities,
including local government units, shall be further rationalized,
coordinated, supervised, and monitored by the Presidential Human Rights
Committee. Year-end performance reports to the President shall be
required by the PHRC from the concerned offices.

SECTION 4. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 10 Dec. 2008

(SGD.) GLORIA M. ARROYO
President of the Philippines   

BY THE PRESIDENT:

(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
 Executive Secretary