of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2
of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2
of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2
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The activ<strong>is</strong>ts and leaders facing threats, along with <strong>the</strong>ir families,<br />
have not been afforded any meaningful protection. The continuing<br />
insecurity <strong>of</strong> witnesses <strong>of</strong> killings and <strong>the</strong> families <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> deceased<br />
<strong>is</strong> preventing <strong>the</strong> effective prosecution <strong>of</strong> perpetrators in court.<br />
Ineffective implementation <strong>of</strong> poverty alleviation,<br />
agrarian reform and urban poor development laws<br />
On Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425):<br />
In September 2005, we sent you hunger-related cases from<br />
General Santos City, <strong>the</strong> Municipality <strong>of</strong> Alabel in Sarangani<br />
and Guindolungan, Maguindanao. These cases involve hungerrelated<br />
deaths, severe malnutrition, villagers being forced to eat<br />
po<strong>is</strong>onous frogs for lack <strong>of</strong> food, children forced to sleep with empty<br />
stomachs and villagers facing continuing threats <strong>of</strong> hunger due<br />
to sporadic fighting. Although interventions were made on th<strong>is</strong>,<br />
<strong>the</strong> AHRC <strong>is</strong> unaware <strong>of</strong> any sustained support afforded to <strong>the</strong><br />
affected families to combat <strong>the</strong> hunger and malnutrition. In fact,<br />
<strong>the</strong> family <strong>of</strong> an infant who died due to severe malnutrition in<br />
General Santos City <strong>is</strong> still experiencing hunger and extreme<br />
poverty to date.<br />
Even <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> National Anti-Poverty Comm<strong>is</strong>sion<br />
(NAPC), which was mandated under Section 5 <strong>of</strong> RA 8425, to<br />
formulate and review policies on poverty-reduction, has had no<br />
significant positive impact on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> its<br />
planned beneficiaries. The r<strong>is</strong>ing number <strong>of</strong> hunger incidents<br />
all over <strong>the</strong> country underlines <strong>the</strong>e ineffective implementation<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> NAPC’s poverty-reduction and social reform program.<br />
On Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law <strong>of</strong> 1988 (RA 6657):<br />
After RA 6657 was enacted, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land reform<br />
beneficiaries have not been able to claim land ownership as<br />
provided for by <strong>the</strong> land reform law. Peasants and land reform<br />
beneficiaries are killed and harassed almost daily for asserting<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir Constitutional rights to land ownership. Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land<br />
reform beneficiaries were even only made aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> law years<br />
after it was enacted. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> true <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cases <strong>of</strong> farm beneficiaries<br />
in Bondoc Peninsula in <strong>the</strong> province <strong>of</strong> Quezon, in Hacienda<br />
Lu<strong>is</strong>ita in Tarlac and in Balasan, Iloilo, as well as in o<strong>the</strong>r similar<br />
cases <strong>of</strong> farmers seeking genuine land reform around <strong>the</strong><br />
country.<br />
On Urban Development and Housing Act (RA 7279):<br />
Although th<strong>is</strong> law requires that relocation sites should be made<br />
available before urban poor villages are demol<strong>is</strong>hed, in practice,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are not. The AHRC <strong>is</strong> aware <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> cases where<br />
urban poor villages have been illegally and violently demol<strong>is</strong>hed,<br />
with villagers being denied relocation sites and losing <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
livelihood due to <strong>the</strong>se forced evictions. Take <strong>the</strong> case we sent<br />
to your <strong>of</strong>fices regarding <strong>the</strong> settlers in Dacudao Compound in<br />
Agdao, Davao City in March 2005 and in Mactan, Lapu-lapu City<br />
in September 2006. These state-perpetrated forced evictions<br />
have had a significant negative impact on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> affected<br />
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 175