The Remapping and Analysis of Human Rights and Peace Education in ASEAN / Southeast Asia (Philippine Report)

Human rights and peace education (HRPE) has never been more relevant for the Philippines. As of this writing, there have been opposing views and experiences on key national issues concerning human rights and peace in the country. There have also been apparent disagreements and malpractice with regards to human rights protection, as well as the proliferation of discourses, paradigms, and policies, that seem to trivialize and abuse human life and the rule of law. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen HRPE and ensure that it is grounded on truth and what is happening at the grassroots level. Despite these challenges, this study shows that HRPE continues to evolve in the Philippine educational system. This study focuses on the current changes adopted by the Philippines with respect to human rights legal education, particularly the developments made by the Legal Education Board (LEB) from 2013 until late 2018. This is the area in which most of the developments are found. Peace and conflict-related programmes offered by colleges and universities are also explored in the study. Desk research on available curricula and programmes of higher education institutions (HEIs) was performed. If the data gathered through desk research were insufficient, necessary information was gathered through validation interviews. Key informant interviews were also conducted with Atty. Marian Chavez, the incumbent Executive Officer of the LEB; Atty. Tanya Karina Lat, one of the consultants of the LEB; and some students from various law schools around the country. The study also reviewed pertinent documents submitted to the LEB by the law schools, and the 2006 research study entitled, “Baseline Study of Law Schools: Human Rights Offerings and Programs Curriculum Review and Development Towards Alternative Lawyering” by Atty. Ma. Ngina Teresa V. Chan-Gonzaga.1 Qualitative analysis is used in analysing the recent developments in HRPE. To supplement the findings, the study also compares the current findings with those of the mapping report published in 2013.

Towards a New Public-Private Sector Engagement in Water Security in the Philippines: A Preliminary Discussion

There is an emerging international recognition today that access to water is in itself a human right, being constitutive of the more categorical recognition of the human right to an “adequate standard of living.” As a human right, access to water must therefore be made available to every person, regardless of economic, social, cultural, and political status. Despite this, access to water in the Philippines today, however, largely remains a matter of politics. The situation is made more difficult by the institutional and policy development of the Philippines, which have increasingly relied on the private sector to maintain, operate, and expand the country’s public utilities. Particularly, the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewage System (MWSS) pointedly illustrates the sad interplay between urban development, on the one hand, and the enforcement of the right to water on the other. This has resulted to relatively efficient gains in the operation of the MWSS, but at the cost of higher (and usually unaffordable) water rates as well as an increase in the number of environmental concerns. This Article explores a human-rights based approach to the problem of water security in the Philippines. By recognizing that access to water is a basic human right towards fuller human development, this Article argues that the State must comply with its international obligation to secure to everyone the right and access to safe and clean drinking water. In doing so, the Article also shows that other human rights concerns, such as on gender among others, can also be adequately responded to if only access to water is treated as a legally demandable human right. The result is a proposition that should the private sector fail in ensuring access to water for everyone, then the State has the correlative obligation to secure this right. In order to do so, the Article recommends the creation of a centralized national agency in charge of all functions related to water security. Clothed as well with quasi-judicial powers, the Article hopes that such proposed agency, being aware of the human rights dimension of water security, would help the State secure to every Filipino a better quality of life

The Philippines: Beyond Resilience: Protecting the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Dulag, Leyte in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan

This chapter focuses on the immediate period leading up to; during; and shortly after the typhoon. It focuses on the municipality of Dulag in the province of Leyte. Displacement in the context of disasters and climate change; no matter the duration; affects human rights. As such; disaster-prone countries like the Philippines must take measures to protect the rights of affected populations. The chapter describes and understands the experiences of individuals and local authorities before; during; and after Haiyan; and assesses if the existing laws; policies; guidelines; and mechanisms were sufficient to effectively address the needs and concerns of the members of communities affected by the typhoon. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan 2011–2028 operationalises the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Framework to achieve the country’s Disaster Risk and Reduction Management vision – ‘safer; adaptive and disaster resilient Filipino communities towards sustainable development.’

Revisiting the Element of Exploitation in the Definition of Trafficking in Persons in Republic Act No. 9208

Trafficking in Persons has evolved from its first forms as ancient slavery and prostitution, to the intricate systems of human exploitation which exist in the present day. More often than not, the crime is a cross-border one, involving many groups and steps which take a victim from their homeland to remote areas where they are subjected to various forms of illicit work, often with little to no chance of returning home. In the Philippines in particular, the problem has grown so rampant that at one point, the country was classified by the United States Department of State as a “Tier 2 Watchlist” country, which partially meant that the number of people who were victims of trafficking was high, and the conviction rate of people who perpetrated such trafficking was low. In this Article, the Author revisits Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9208, the country’s anti-trafficking law. Focus is directed towards the element of exploitation, which is believed to be one of the major obstacles in convicting those who are suspected of being traffickers. The Article explains how, given the complicated and multi-layered systems trafficking syndicates have in place at this time, it becomes doubly hard to prove that traffickers have an intent to exploit the would-be victims, especially during the early stages of the trafficking cycle. The Article also argues that while making the attempted and frustrated stages of trafficking punishable may help the situation, it still does not address the problem of the difficulty found in proving intent. The Author puts forward that a possible solution could be the establishment of disputable presumptions in the current anti-trafficking law. These presumptions shift the burden of evidence (but not the burden of proof) to the accused. The Author argues that this would help the conviction rate in the country, and that such presumption is constitutional and even justified by state policy, particularly the duty of the State to uphold the human dignity of each and every person, something which human trafficking unquestionably violates

The Best Interests of the Child and Parental Authority in Philippine Family Law

Parental authority is a mass of statutory rights and obligations granted to parents for the children’s physical preservation and development; cultivation of intellect; and education of hearts and senses. The father and the mother exercise joint parental authority over their common legitimate children. If the parents disagree; the father’s decision prevails. The mother can contest such decision before a court and obtain a judicial order. In case of separation; the court designates which parent will exercise parental authority; taking into account all relevant considerations. For the illegitimate children; parental authority is exercised by the mother; regardless of whether the father admits paternity. In any case; the tender age rule mandatorily applies. It prohibits the separation of a child below seven years of age from the mother. The exception to this rule is when the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise. In such situation; the court may award the custody to the other parent; or even to a third party as it deems fit under the circumstances. To deprive the mother of custody; the interested party must clearly establish that the mother’s moral lapses have adverse effects on the welfare of the child or have distracted her from exercising proper parental care. Sexual preference or moral laxity alone on the part of the mother does not prove parental neglect or incompetence. Equally applicable is the principle of “best interests of the child.” It refers to the totality of the circumstances and conditions that are most congenial to the survival; protection; and feelings of security of the child. The circumstances should be encouraging to the child’s physical; psychological; and emotional development. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child mandates that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children

The Philippines

Human rights and peace education (HRPE) has never been more relevant for the Philippines. As of this writing, there have been opposing views and experiences on key national issues concerning human rights and peace in the country. There have also been apparent disagreements and malpractice with regards to human rights protection, as well as the proliferation of discourses, paradigms, and policies, that seem to trivialize and abuse human life and the rule of law. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen HRPE and ensure that it is grounded on truth and what is happening at the grassroots level. Despite these challenges, this study shows that HRPE continues to evolve in the Philippine educational system. This study focuses on the current changes adopted by the Philippines with respect to human rights legal education, particularly the developments made by the Legal Education Board (LEB) from 2013 until late 2018. This is the area in which most of the developments are found. Peace and conflict-related programmes offered by colleges and universities are also explored in the study. Desk research on available curricula and programmes of higher education institutions (HEIs) was performed. If the data gathered through desk research were insufficient, necessary information was gathered through validation interviews. Key informant interviews were also conducted with Atty. Marian Chavez, the incumbent Executive Officer of the LEB; Atty. Tanya Karina Lat, one of the consultants of the LEB; and some students from various law schools around the country. The study also reviewed pertinent documents submitted to the LEB by the law schools, and the 2006 research study entitled, “Baseline Study of Law Schools: Human Rights Offerings and Programs Curriculum Review and Development Towards Alternative Lawyering” by Atty. Ma. Ngina Teresa V. Chan-Gonzaga.1 Qualitative analysis is used in analysing the recent developments in HRPE. To supplement the findings, the study also compares the current findings with those of the mapping report published in 2013.

Child Rights Situation Analysis Within the ASEAN Region

In the endeavor of promoting and protecting rights and well beings of the child, Save the Children sees the importance of having a good understanding of the situation for children in the country context in order to inform its strategic decisions at the regional level. Save the Children therefore commissioned the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University, to carry out a comprehensive Regional Children’s Rights Situation Analysis (CRSA) in ASEAN. The overall purpose of the Regional Children’s Rights Situation Analysis is to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the current situation of children in ASEAN member countries. The Regional CRSA includes, among others, an examination of current rights violations and its underlying causes, including the accountabilities of duty bearers; analysis of relevant legal frameworks and of the perspectives of other stakeholders, including children, as well as, looking at the environment of changes taking place and likely to take place over the next three to five plus years and how these may affect children’s rights. The purpose is to enable Save the Children and its partner civil society organizations to make the appropriate strategic choices about what needs to be done to improve children’s lives, in the context of ASEAN and ASEAN Member States (AMS), in particular. The study has employed mainly desk reviews and a detailed study including field researches in three countries where Save the Children does not have presence (namely Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore). It also examines other sources of literatures and policy statements of ASEAN and AMS. The study also looks at emerging/new children’s rights issues or those that Save the Children in Southeast Asia has not worked on in the past so as to balance program experience with new opportunities for engagement that will have a positive impact on children’s lives. The Study Team also conducted stakeholders’ interviews and focus group discussions with children especially in the three countries as stated earlier. Two regional consultations were organized with relevant Save the Children staff as well as representatives from civil society, government and academia in ASEAN Member States. There are some limitations that the Team faced in the process of this study. The quantitative data is scarce in the region and this has implications on analyzing the disaggregation of children’s rights mapping disaggregation of data by gender, ethnicity, disability and age. The Team, to a certain extent was able to do a stakeholder analysis by looking at roles and responsibilities, capacity gap analysis, and trends analysis; however, there is room for further research

A map of human genome variation from population-scale sequencing

The 1000 Genomes Project aims to provide a deep characterization of human genome sequence variation as a foundation for investigating the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Here we present results of the pilot phase of the project, designed to develop and compare different strategies for genome-wide sequencing with high-throughput platforms. We undertook three projects: low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 179 individuals from four populations; high-coverage sequencing of two mother-father-child trios; and exon-targeted sequencing of 697 individuals from seven populations. We describe the location, allele frequency and local haplotype structure of approximately 15 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, 1 million short insertions and deletions, and 20,000 structural variants, most of which were previously undescribed. We show that, because we have catalogued the vast majority of common variation, over 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual are present in this data set. On average, each person is found to carry approximately 250 to 300 loss-of-function variants in annotated genes and 50 to 100 variants previously implicated in inherited disorders. We demonstrate how these results can be used to inform association and functional studies. From the two trios, we directly estimate the rate of de novo germline base substitution mutations to be approximately 10−8 per base pair per generation. We explore the data with regard to signatures of natural selection, and identify a marked reduction of genetic variation in the neighbourhood of genes, due to selection at linked sites. These methods and public data will support the next phase of human genetic researc